Chapter 23

“Well, I suppose that’s all for today. Head back home, and make sure to do your best to protect the city you’ve been assigned to,” Cyrus said, ending the meeting. Not much happened after my introduction, and the meeting had just kind of went on normally. We discussed the red crystal I found in the Huge Spiders, but since we didn’t have a whole lot of information on it, we couldn’t really do much other than advise caution. The meeting ended and I left the venue still not having properly greeted most of the other S-Ranks.

“Well, that’s that. See you later, Yuria. Although, we S-Ranks travel between cities a lot, so I’ll probably see you again soon.”

“Yes, I hope so. It was very nice getting to know you. You’ve done a lot for me; thank you.”

Eira was smiling as she spoke. She was so nice to me, a younger, newer S-Rank. I really couldn’t thank her enough. It was time to bid goodbye. I really didn’t want to, to be honest… But I knew we’d meet again someday. Until then, I’ll just have to do my duties to the best of my ability.

“Eira, there you are. I was waiting.”

“Mom? Why are you here?”

One of Eira’s family members seemed to be waiting for her outside the conference room. Family, huh? Family… A common word, but one that I have absolutely no connection with.

I never knew my family. I’ve always been alone, even in my earliest memories. I was alone in the Twilight, too. Now, even though I have friends and other people around me, I still haven’t gotten rid of that sense of loneliness. Ah, I shouldn’t get in their way… Let’s get out of here, I thought. But before I could move, a voice called out to me.

“Oh? You’re Yuria, no?”

“Oh, um… Yes…”

It would be rude to just run away after Eira’s mother addressed me, so I decided to greet her properly first.

“I’m Eira’s mother. My name is Lyra. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“My name is Yuria. It’s nice to meet you as well.”

“Hehe…”

“What is it?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. It’s just been quite a while since I’ve seen my daughter talking to someone in such an… animated manner.”

“What?! You were watching?!”

“Yes, of course. Yuria, I’m afraid my daughter has quite a variety of problems, but I do hope the two of you get along well. She’s a good child at heart.”

“Of course! I’m very grateful to your daughter!”

“Oh ho ho, it seems you’ve found quite the catch, Eira.”

“Ugh… Leave it be, Mom…”

I thought, for a second… No, her face was definitely a little red. I’ve never seen her get embarrassed before, I thought, listening to the mother-daughter conversation with a smile. Shortly afterwards, we parted ways.

***

I’m being followed, I thought. I felt someone tailing me the moment I left the castle. I could clearly feel their hostile eyes on me. But hostility this obvious… They were behaving no differently from an animal.

Out in the Twilight, creatures hid their hostility and murderous intent until the very last minute. They only revealed it when they were about to kill someone. Even weak monsters could do that. For someone to be this blatantly revealing their hostility, they’d have to be incredibly emotional, I thought. In order to lure them out, I slipped into a back alley. Here, out of public areas, a fight shouldn’t be that big of a deal. I prepared myself.

“…Yuria.”

“…Dan. Rebecca and Aria, too.”

The three of them were glaring at me. Dan, in particular, had the harshest look in his eyes. He looked ready to kill me at any moment. Obviously, I wasn’t just going to stand around and die. I was fully prepared to use force. It was time for me to put an end to this. I’d become an S-Rank Exorcist… I decided I had nothing left to fear. I need to behave like an S-Rank, too.

“So, you became the 13th S-Rank, huh? What a fucking joke.”

“It’s not a joke. I was just at a meeting of all the S-Ranks and officially became number 13.”

“…I don’t give a shit about that. So, what the fuck are you using?”

“…Huh?”

“Don’t play dumb! I’m asking what you used to get that rank! Was it drugs?! Huh?!”

“Yeah! You have to have used something!”

“There’s no other way for you to have become an S-Rank! There’s no way you got ahead of us!”

They tossed all kinds of foul language at me. I see… So they haven’t accepted it.

”

”

Well, that makes sense.

The person they’d been bullying all this time, the person they left for dead, suddenly came back and became an S-Rank Exorcist… They just can’t come to terms with that. But reality doesn’t care about that. They forced me out into the Twilight, and I survived. I gained the strength to become an S-Rank Exorcist. That is fact, no matter what they believe. Dan, Rebecca, and Aria were incredibly talented, especially compared to the old me. That’s why they couldn’t admit they’d been surpassed. They were too easy to read, really.

“Yuria!” Dan shouted, drawing his broadsword, and strengthening his body. Rebecca and Aria supported him, casting walls of ice around me and a barrier to prevent my escape. The three of them were oozing bloodlust. They’d fallen beyond the point of no return… I decided not to hold back.

I’d been incredibly patient with them so far, hoping that, eventually, they’d come to their senses. Humans don’t change so easily, I suppose. After all, I hadn’t changed all that much, despite my newfound strength. And Dan? I suppose he’d remain like this until the day he died. He just gets off to putting other people down. That disgusting state of mind of his… I could see it plainly, now.

I’m done.

I’m done with them.

I’ve put up with this for too long.

Perhaps, one day we’d be able to talk calmly and understand each other. But I believed that from here on out, we would forever remain like parallel lines – never intersecting ever again. I’d come to this realisation after the last time they attacked me. I realised that they were never going to change. Their absolutely disgusting way of thinking could never be changed. And I… I was out of patience.

I’d always wanted to be kind. That’s what my parents taught me. They taught me that there are good and bad people in the world. And, in the Twilight, I learned about the survival of the fittest.

I want nothing more to do with them. I just want to forget about them, I used to think. And so, I’ve been running away from them ever since I came back. Since even before then, really. I’ve just been running. I may have gotten stronger, but I was still weak at heart.

But I’m putting an end to that today. I can’t always be kind. Humanity can be incredibly disgusting, too, after all. I let them go last time, but this time I’ll end this.

My anger gradually bubbled back up. I felt darkness seize hold of my heart. Yes, give unto them what they deserve. There’s no need to hesitate anymore.

I drew my knife from my pocket and activated [Invisible Blade] and blocked Dan’s sword head-on.

“Yuria!!!”

The three of them continued radiating hostility. But Dan’s was a little different. I could feel jealousy and… envy in there, amidst anger and other emotions. He wanted to make me yield, more than anything. I suppose even human society is ruled by the law of the jungle, I thought. However, currently, he was a Rank 1 Exorcist attacking an S-Rank Exorcist. Judging by just the names, you would think the two ranks were fairly close in strength. But that’s wrong. S-Rank Exorcists are humanity’s hope. They are symbols of humanity. Obviously, S-Ranks were on a level all their own.

Also, Dan may have gotten stronger in the last two years, but he was still clearly weaker than Sherry. He always used to say, “Hard work? That’s for talentless trash, not me.” Rebecca and Aria felt the same way. The three of them were gifted, after all, so they’d always been stronger than the people around them. But skill – strength – is a combination of a person’s talent, their effort, and the environment they were in. Only when all three of them come together can a person really become strong. They were certainly talented, but living on talent alone has its limits – as they were clearly seeing for themselves.

It’s pathetic, watching the sad ending of a man who drowned in his own talent, I thought. I feel like vomiting.

“…Dan, Rebecca, Aria. This is the end.”

I swung [Invisible Blade] and sent Dan’s broadsword flying. I also extended blades from my fingertips, keeping Rebecca and Aria from moving. They were far too weak. With how weak they were, it didn’t matter how many of them came at me – I could easily handle it. I kicked Dan in the solar plexus as hard as I could. He fell on the ground in front of me.

“Ugh… you bastard… Yuria! Ah.. Wait… Huh?”

It took him a second to notice that I’d thrust [Invisible Blade] into his left leg. However, I didn’t go in too deep. There shouldn’t be any lasting effects, either. I only stabbed him lightly.

“Ahhhhhh!”

“Dan!”

“Are you okay?! Yuria, this is a crime!”

Coming from you… This is obviously self-defense. The three of you tailed me and attacked me out of nowhere, I thought. Well, I shouldn’t overdo it. I wouldn’t want to do anything considered “excessive force,” after all.

“Yuria, you bastard… The fuck did you do?! My leg! Fuck, my leg!”

It was probably the first time he’d ever been wounded. I just stared at him, lying on the floor, coldly.

Pathetic.

That was the only word I could use to describe it. He’d spent all his life looking down on others, and now here he was, on the ground, crying in front of me. I prepared to stab Dan again, but I sensed an extraordinary amount of fear from him. Way too much fear. Rebecca and Aria hadn’t cast any magic, either. It was weird. What’s going on?

“Ah… Ah… Wh… Ah…”

“N-nooooo!!!”

I could scarcely believe that was Dan’s voice. On top of that, Aria was screaming. I turned around, realising something was wrong.

And…

I saw Rebecca being eaten by a monster. It was a Huge Spider, just like I’d seen before. It restrained her with a thread and ate her. And, in just a moment, there was nothing left. Rebecca was dead. Only her blood was left, dripping on the ground…

Was this what I felt back then? That weird uncomfortable feeling I’d felt? But… How long… has that thing been there…

And so, we were plunged straight into the depths of hell.