Chapter 5: The Moon and the Sunâs Game of Tag (Back Half)
There were way too many people crowded around here.
The camera was once again showing me, after I had been quickly dragged up to the fourth floor by the shop employee.
A pink, gaudy happi coat was wrapped around me, a fan with heart marks drawn all over it was thrust into my hands, and before I knew it I had been transformed into a groupie.
After that, I was tossed into a relatively cramped room that wasnât any bigger than a standard classroom. But this room was filled to overflowing with people in the same clothes.
âSay! You! Say! You!â
Just because it was a âseiyuuâ show didnât mean they had to keep chanting seiyuu seiyuu seiyuu⌠but whatever. It seemed that was the custom, so I followed along and shouted myself hoarse.
When you were in a crowd, the rules apparently were that you also had to frantically jump up and down with the bouncy music that was being blasted out at us, wave around the glowsticks we had been given, and squeal out in high-pitched voices. If I didnât follow the crowd and do those things, people would look at me with cold eyes and scold me with a âCome on, do it right already!â
âSay! You! Say! You!â
A strange fever began to envelope us.
I was a hikikomori, and before then I was locked away at our familyâs shrine, living an isolated life.
So of course, Iâve never gone to an event like this, and I really couldnât judge whether this situation was strange or not.
They said this was a âseiyuu show,â but honestly it felt more like a concert or a live performance to me.
Some seiyuu-san I didnât recognize was out front singing heatedly about love or the world or whatever (I was shrimpy so I couldnât actually see the stage over the people in front of me). The people next to me were joining hand in hand and dancing wildly.
âSay! You! Say! You!â
UmmâŚ
Why exactly was I here again?
My memories were getting a bit blurry, while the air around me began to heat up.
Small little me was swept away by that ferocious atmosphere, pretty much swinging in midair as I joined hands with the people next to me and was pulled along. I couldnât think at all⌠everything had fallen into chaos.
My mind was getting fuzzy. My body was getting hot.
This was⌠this⌠didnât feel right.
This group of wild people were almost like a cult, sucking away my abilities to think for myself.
The music being blasted at us was just like a brainwashing song⌠it made me feel good even though it was nonsense, and I could feel my mind melting away.
If I did something wrong, the people next to me would scold me, so without realizing it I was being trained, letting my heart join with that of the crowd. I could feel the boundary where myself ended and the crowd began starting to fade away.
I⌠I wasâŚ
Why⌠was I⌠ahhâŚ
Sei⌠yuuâŚ
âSay! You! Say! You!â
I was already half-hypnotized by the almost religious fervor filling this room. Meanwhile, my brother behind me, still filming me with the camera, couldnât get any closer to me.
My brother had hurriedly chased me here, but this room had already reached full capacity, and he couldnât make his way into this cramped space.
âH-Hey, let me through! Sasami-san! Can you hear me?! Ahh, itâs too loud in here⌠come on, get out of the way! Agh, ow! Hyah?!â
My brother was elbowed, kicked, and shoved to the ground by the excited crowd, and then trampled cruelly to the point where you could swear that was all a bit on purposeâŚ
This was pretty like my brother, but please try a bit harder, oniichan.
âThis⌠is bad⌠Sasami-san! Get away from here! Thereâs a strange smell in the air! Theyâre burning some strange incense or something! This isnât a seiyuu show! Their goal is⌠their goal is.. to brainwa-â
âUmmâŚâ
My brother managed to scurry away from the barrage of kicks he was receiving, but still couldnât get any closer to me. He just stayed back there, calling out to me frantically⌠when someone spoke up to him.
âExcuse me, but filming is not allowedâŚâ
It was a woman who looked in her twenties, and who was wearing a security guard uniform.
She was timid-looking, and the edges of her eyebrows drooped downwards.
My brother had his face hidden and was filming through a camera, so Iâm sure he looked insanely suspicoius. This girl had probably come over to tell him off⌠she was most likely one of the security personnel here at the seiyuu show.
âEh? Ah, no, Iâm just trying to get to Sasami⌠hm?â
My brother shouldnât have eyes for anybody other than me, but he turned around to face the security guard.
He seemed to be surprised.
âHuh? Youâre⌠I know youâŚâ
âHueh? E-Ehhhh?!?â
The security guard was also clearly surprised, and for whatever reason began to back away from my brother, an expression of utter shock on her face.
âK-K-Kamiomi-san?! What are you hre?!â
âAhh, as I thought, youâre from the Tsukuyomi ShrineâŚâ
At my brotherâs words, I also figured it out.
Now that I took a closer look, she did look awfully familiar⌠I was fooled for a minute since she was dressed up as a security guard, but this was definitely a miko from the Tsukuyomi Shrine.
âY-Y-Youâre wrong! I donât know of this âTsukuyomi Shrineâ or whatever! Y-Youâve got the wrong personâŚ. P-P-Please leave, Kamiomi-san!â
âBut you know my name, so itâs clear we know each other, right?â
⌠The Tsukuyomi Shrine.
They were a strange clan, in which generation after generation, a Tsukuyomi miko would inherit the power of the Supreme God Amaterasu into her body, becoming enshrined there as the clanâs leader and using her powers to maintain a world that was convenient for human life.
They was also my biological family.
The other day, the Yagami Sisters had attacked the shrine, and the Tsukuyomi Shrine shouldâve been destroyed, butâŚ
âIf people from the shrine are here⌠donât tell me that this suspicious event wasâŚ?!â
âHyahhh?! N-No, I donât know anything at all! Itâs not like the family head, Sasami-samaâs father, ordered all the remaining members of the Tsukuyomi Shrine to go and perform a ritual together or something like that!!â
âThank you for the explanation⌠this is bad, Sasami-san!!â
Thanks to this overly careless miko, I also now knew what was going on.
Everyone in this religiously charged event space was a member of the Tsukuyomi Shrine. In other words, everyone here was a spiritual user, and was part of an organization that had been pulling the strings behind the curtains.
They had all left the shrine and had come here to perform some ritual centered around me to achieve some goal.
The shrine had already been destroyed, so I had thought that these people were now harmless and had let down my guard⌠this was so ridiculous.
It seemed that the Tsukuyomi Shrine still had absolutely no intention of leaving me alone.
âKyaaaahh?!â
Suddenly, a shriek echoed around the event hall.
The origin of that shriek was the me inside the screen.
My brother hurriedly pointed the camera in the direction of the disturbance.
People were still moving all around and there was a suspicious rainbow-colored light reflecting everywhere so it was hard to tell anything from anything, but my clothes were beginning to come loose.
I was getting jostled by so many people that my outfit was being thrown into disarray.
My shoulders were now bare.
âT-The stickerâŚâ
I could hear my voice weakly calling out.
Sticker? That meantâŚ
âNow!â
That voice was much louder.
The seiyuu-san who had been singing her brainwashing song yelled that out loudly.
Right, everyone here belonged to the Tsukuyomi Shrine.
The seiyuu who was singing was probably a fake, and was actually a spiritual user from the shrine.
She was using a singing voice infused with spiritual energy to disturb my thoughts, steal away my consciousness, and render me unable to use the power of the Supreme God temporarilyâŚ
I had fallen half-asleep and was completely defenceless, whenâŚ
âHyaâŚ. Fueh?!â
I opened my eyes in a panic, but I was already too late.
Regardless of how it looked, the people around me grabbed both my hands and stuck charms all over my body, restraining me from moving both physically or spiritually.
Of course, even though these people had trained their spiritual powers, their divinity wasnât very high, so itâs not like the likes of these spiritualists would be powerful enough to bind the power of the Supreme God for more than a few seconds. Even if I was brainwasyed and completely disoriented.
However, a few seconds was all they needed.
âRejoice!â
A man in white clothing jumped a few meters in a single leap and pressed down upon me.
A metallic glint shone through the air, and I saw that his hand was gripping onto a double-edged sword.
I recoginized that sword.
It was the deified blade, the Totsuka no Tsurugi. (3)
It wasnât a particularly rare or high-class spiritual weapon, but depending on how you used it you could even cut down gods.
âOh sun, surrender thy beautiful throne to the moon, and bestow upon humanity a new chronicler!â
The man who leapt at me shouted.
I recognized him.
His eyes were stern, but his hair was long for a man and he looked quite small and youthful.
Tsukuyomi Ruza⌠my father.
âDo not move, Sasami! Resistance is meaningless!â
With fluid motions, my father brought down the Totsuka no Tsurugi upon me, as I stood there unable to move.
ââŚâŚ?!â
The blade my father was holding pierced into my chest from above, and cut off the small bulge near my collarbone⌠the sarcoma.
Now that the sticker which was sealing it had fallen off, the sarcoma began to swell until it was around the size of a heart.
âFuhaha! Good, good, good!!â
My father grabbed that blood-soaked sarcoma and began to laugh victoriously.
âMy daughter, do not think badly of me⌠your father will take on your excess baggage! Sleep in peace!â
My father roared with lauhter in front of me, while I crumbled to the ground.
Did I faint? Had IâŚdied?
I remained motionless at the center of that pool of blood.
H-Huh�
I⌠died?
Then⌠why was I here⌠watching this video�
What was all this?
The me on screen losing blood and slowly becoming a corpse.
There was way too much blood.
Even if I was still breathing, it wouldnât be long before my life would cease to be.
So⌠who exactly was the me here, the me who was watching the me on screen die?
ââŚâŚâ
Almost unconsciously, I stripped off my uniform and looked down at my chest.
There was nothing there.
There was no sarcoma⌠there wasnât even a scar.
I felt my heart thump.
I was forgetting something⌠something bad.
âT-This⌠father, do you have any idea what youâve just done?!â
Things steadily progressed on screen.
It was rare to hear my brother sound so enraged. My father finally seemed to notice him.
He snorted.
âWell well, if it isnât Kamiomi⌠youâve already been excommunicated from this family, so do not call me father.â
My father smiled an unhappy-looking smile while stlil holding onto the sarcoma.
âThis is all in order to take back the power of the Supreme God. My daughter ran away from us with the family treasure, so itâs only natural for us to chase her down and take back whatâs ours while inflicting some amount of pain on her.â
The sarcoma wriggled inside my fatherâs hand.
âAnd everything was planned by this one.â
My father was completely calm, as if he didnât think of my brother as a threat at all.
âSasami had tried to seal this one, but her seals grew weak and this one slowly regained its consciousness. And then, this one contacted us after our shrine had been destroyed and we were left wandering on our own, secretly exchanged information with us, and proposed the plan you see her to us.â
I see. So a crack had formed in the sarcomaâs seal.
I had been mumbling something about that too during my brotherâs commercial (?).
âThe power of the Supreme God is passed down by blood in the mikos of the Tsukuyomi line. This one is the god of Sasamiâs physical body, and he sought to steal that power and then separate from her body to escape.â
The sarcoma was the deity associated with my physical being, but was trained by the people back at the shrine and had his own separate personality. It was a god who stood in a peculiar position, being one with me and yet possessing a separate consciousness.
The sarcomaâs instinct told it that itâs greatest goal was to protect Tsukuyomi Sasami. However, the sarcomaâs personality was trained by the people at the shrine.
So it wasnât strange that the sarcoma would want to help out its original masters.
âThe power of the Supreme God is now right here. Right here within my hands.â
My father held out the sarcoma proudly.
That thing had stolen it. Stolen the power of the Supreme God from me.
While I had been under the influence of that brainwashing song and that strange incense in the air, while the religious ritual was robbing me of my consciousness and my ability to use my spiritual powers, both the sarcoma and the power of the Supreme God had been taken from me.
It was quite a desperate move for them to take advantage of the rift between me and the ssarcoma, but their plan had succeeded.
âYou all destroyed our shrine, and I admit we were left in shambles for a while⌠but now everything will return to normal. Do not look so afraid, Kamiomi. There couldâve been no happier conclusion than this.â
But there was a bit of fear in my fatherâs voice.
âSasami should still be alive. If you hurry and bring her to a hospital, she will certainly not die. And now that this one has lost the power of the Supreme God, she is no longer any concern to the shrine. You two can proceed and live the normal, peaceful life that youâve always dreamed of.â
My father looked around cautoiusly, almost like a misbehaving child fearful of his parents.
âRather, you should be thanking me. If that woman had shown up, we wouldnât have been able to finish this so quickly and simply. Even I do believe my children are lovely. Forget about the shrine and live freely, Sasami, Kamiomi. Leave the rest to father. If we continue to fight much more, that woman will come.â
That woman? Who was he talking about?
Who was my father so afraid of?
âI cannot.â
My brother took a number of charms and spells into his hands and stood straight up, straing down the people of the Tsukuyomi Shrine.
It was quite unlike him. He was always so unreliable and wishy-washyâŚ
âThat sarcoma is a part of Sasami-san. No, itâs the very essence of Sasami-sanâs physical being. If she loses that, who knows what kind of defects will show up in Sasami-sanâs body later. Itâs even possible this will be fatal. I wonât let anybody take any piece of Sasamiâs body or mind, no matter how small.â
Even though this was my brother we were talkin gabout, both my father and the other people from the shrine were clearly afraid.
My brother ignored all the others as they stared at him cautiously, but just walked straight for me.
He picked up my body, which now truly looked close to death.
âThat is my purpose.â
And then my brother leapt into action⌠is what I wanted to say. If that happened, I mightâve truly fallen in love with him again. ButâŚ
â
âHyaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!â
â
Suddenly, the wall right next to my brother was smashed up, sending rubble, the shrine members, and my brother all flying at once. And then, Yagami Tsurugi appeared.
âDamn annoying, those suckers back there! You really thought you could stop this cute and lovely Tsurugi-chan with those low-level youkai, (2) haah?! All the damn eromanga I bought was burned up in the battle, you bastards! Iâll kill all you damn halfwits! ⌠Oh, Tsukuyomi. What are you doing under my foot there?â
âJust⌠donât worry about meâŚâ
My brother was now lying flat on his face with Tsurugi stepping on him. Maybe he was a bit depressed at having his spotlight stolen, or maybe he was happy about getting abused by this chibi sensei, but my brother didnât try to move.
âTch, she already broke throughâŚ?!â
My father panickingly pointed his bloodstained Totsuka no Tsurugi at Tsurugi. (3)
It seemed that, to prevent any intrusions to their little ritual of cutting the sarcoma from my body, they had positioned a bunch of youkai (sometimes low-level gods were called youkai) to guard the area.
âFunyaa.â
Kagami suddenly peaked in from the hole that Tsurugi had opened along the wall.
âI thought I felt something suspicious, and now I see the Tsukuyomi Shrine members⌠ahh, Iâm so sleepy⌠interrupting me when Iâm blissfully sleeping is a heavy crime, you know.â
She had been happily sleeping away at the bathhouse, but it seemed she had been woken up by a certain uneasy presence and came here to help.
âY-You bastardsâŚ!â
Considering the Yagami Sisters were the ones who had destroyed the Tsukuyomi Shrine, it was no wonder that my father was losing his temper.
âHow fortunate it is to meet you here! What a perfect opportunity to erase the grudge I still feel from you destroying the legendary Tsukuyomi Shrine! You may have been able to take us by surprise then, but this time weâve come fully prepared! Prepare to taste defeat by the hands of the most capable irregularity eradicators this land has to offer!â
My father was going on and on like that, talking himself into an excited frenzy.
But this time, heâd chosen the most awful opponents for that. In many ways.
â
âOut of the way out of the way out of the way~~~!!!â
â
A shrill voice echoed through the room.
That sounded like Tamaâs voice.
And at the same time, the ceiling was destroyed as an unidentified flying object the size of a car dropped down.
Yeah⌠that was a UFO.
It was round and silver-colored. There was no mistaking this for anything else but a âyuufoâ~~ (said in the tone of someone who was bored of earth boys). (4)
The ceiling was easily crushed under the weight of the UFO while people were thrown all around. The UFO continued to drop down, leaving nothing spared in its path and as it sent rubble in all directions and crushed everything to powder.
What amazing destructive powerâŚ
Maybe it was because Trusugi had already opened a big hole in the wall, but the ceiling and walls now were all blown away and a hole even opened up the floor. The building was half destroyed. If you thought there was a breeze beforeâŚ
âGyaahh?!?!?â
Someone screamed. I didnât know who. Everyone was probably screaming.
The UFO rotated a few times, continuing to break through the buildingâs walls and finally charging outside. And then, it went into a freefall.
At last, the UFO crashed into the earth below, creating a huge crater in the asphalt down below before coming to a complete stop.
The people of the Tsukuyomi Shrine, my brother, Tsurugi, and myself⌠we all fell right down after that UFO and whirled ominously right for the ground!
But miraculously (it was also probably because of divine intervension), it seemed that nobody had died, although you could see splatters of blood here and there, as well as a huge commotion as rubble and glass fell all around.
Dust, pieces of concrete, and glass fragments blew violently all around.
Both my brotherâs Camera One and Kagamiâs Camera Two couldnât properly take in the whole scene, only showing the wanton maelstrom of destruction.
Kagamiâs camera mightâve broken, because I saw noise fly across the screen before the display went dark.
Miraculously, my brotherâs camera seemed to have survived, but my brother seemed to have dropped it, since the screen turned round and round a bit before becoming still. I could see what looked like a corner of the silver UFO at the bottom of the display.
âSorrrrrrrrrrrryyyyy~~~~!â
A crack ran down the UFOâs smooth surface, when suddenly an entranceway appeared and a ramp extended down to the ground.
The person who came down the ramp was⌠well, it was a bit difficult to tell because the camera was so low, but judging from her voice and the length of her legs that was probably Tama.
âIs everyone okay? Howawawa⌠Tamaâs sorry! Tama and the others, we were chased by the guv-ern-mint and ran away⌠and Tama thought she would go save Tsurugi-nee! But the bray-ks were broken and we had to go through the building!â
Tama sounded on the verge of tears, when things with sleek-looking orange skin came out next to her.
The camera angle was once again too low for me to make them completely out, but they were clearly not human.
That silver-colored whatever-it-wa went softly over to Tama, and cried out in a high-pitched howl.
âKyupiiâŚâ
âDonât worry, Tama will protect you! Tama will never hand over the Ntos Modento, the controller of the mysteries of the universe, to the guv-ern-ment! Donât cry! Those brave parents protected you with their lives! Live a long life and return to your home planet!â
Tama embraced this mysterious being.
While I wasnât looking, it seemed like this had turned into some completely random drama.
I really didnât want to get involved in this though, so Iâll refrain from prying for details.
âWe found them! Itâs the aliens!â
âYou! Girl over there! Do you have any idea what youâre doing?! This is a crisis! A matter of life or death! Just leave it to the Earth Alliance Government and hand over that evil alien!â
People dressed in full combat gear and who looked like some kind of special forces came charging in, firing warning shots into the air.
At the same time, a medicinal-looking green smoke began to fill the area, making the unwounded Tsurugi cough (she also seemed to have hugged my brother close to protect him from the fall).
âCough cough⌠what th ehell is this?! Tear gas?! Also what the hellâs going on?! What kind of plot twist is this?!â
âSeems like a drug that will cause memory loss⌠try not to breathe it in, neesan! It might not harm us, but this gas is thick enough that it could induce mental breakdown in humans!â
Kagami was yelling about something.
The special forces people ignored her, but just rushed towards Tama and the alien-like creature she was holding onto.
âShow no mercy to anyone who gets in our way! All units, attack! Attack formation delta!â
âThis is your last warning! For humanity⌠for the future of Earth, hand over that alien!â
âEarth was the side that kidnapped Kyupi-chan first and started a big space war! Kyupi-chanâs parents were going to forgive you and go back to their planet super quietly too! That was all ruined because of you~~!â
Tama was yelling about something.
âRun, Kyupi-chan! Sorry everyone! Tama will explain later!â
Tama picked up this Kyupi-chan or whatever and began running away with all her might.
The special forces people violently dashed after her, leaving only the dust and green smoke showing on screen. It was a complete train reckâŚ
This was the very definition of chaos. And in the midst of all thatâŚ
âU-UghhhâŚâ
Something⌠something was rolling on the ground right past Camera One.
It was a little red and black ball of meat, dripping with blood.
This was the sarcoma that had been cut off of my bodyâŚ
It seemed that the sarcoma had fallen from my fatherâs hands and was now rolling around on the ground.
âHave to⌠run⌠awayâŚâ
The sarcoma was creating an alteration, through which it transformed, grew arms and feet⌠and slowly took the shape of a human.
At this point, it still vaguely looked like a clay doll, but it was slowly but surely changing its shape to be human. I heard a raspy, shaky moan come out from its mouth.
âI⌠will be free⌠freeâŚâ
At that point, Camera One seemed to reach its limit. The screen filled with static, and the display went dark.
âWell, thatâs pretty much it.â
A voice suddenly echoed out from behind me once the video and sound both cut out.
I felt an electric shock run right down my spine, and I almost leapt up as I hastily turned around.
At some point, Tsurugi, the eldest of the Yagami Sisters, had snuck up behind me and was standing there with a bored expression on her face and a crimson-colored bundle across her shoulder.
There was nobody else there.
It was just Tsurugi and me in this room.
UmmmmmâŚ
What did she mean, âthatâs pretty much itâ?
Even as I thought about that, some part of my mind⌠perhaps the part you could call âinstinct,â already understood everything that was going on.
Hurry.
Hurry up and run.
âUmm, I guess the picture cut out suddenly there, so Iâll just summarize what happened after that for you.â
There was a strange hint of irritation in Tsurugiâs voice as she spoke to me lazily, not minding my reactions.
âTama and that alien whatever and those special forces disappeared off somewhere, and we still donât know where they are. Kagami and I beat up those people from the Tsukuyomi Shrine, to the point where all they could do was babble âWe wonât do anything bad anymore. We love you Tsurugi-chan.â Tsukuyomi called an ambulance and went to the hospital with Sasami, who had suffered surprisingly heavy injuries.â
I see. After all⌠a part of my chest had been cut away.
I had lost a lot of blood, and even if I didnât die I wouldâve at least been hospitalized.
But⌠hmm?
Something was strange hereâŚ
âBecause of that drug those special forces were spreading around, your consciousness was thrown into disarray, you lost your memories, and you donât even seem to remember who you are anymore. I used a little alteration to make that DVD for the purposes of correcting that discrepancy.â
Tsurugi pointed at the computer screen I had been staring at until a little bit ago and made the following declaration:
â
âHave you finally remembered who you are⌠Sarcoma-chan?â
â
Her words sent my mind for a huge loop.
A huge flood of emotions and memories washed over my psyche.
Thatâs right.
That was itâŚ
âAfter all, you and Sasami shared the same body, to the point where you could say you two were the same person. I was a bit surprised that you suddenly thought you were Tsukuyomi Sasami, but I guess itâs not impossible. You mightâve had holes in your memories, but you were exhausted, and then did something that would be natural for Tsukuyomi Sasami to do⌠you came home.â
I see. So that was this sense of weariness running through my body.
It wasnât because I was still getting used to an unfamiliar school life⌠it was because I had been a part of that huge fuss.
âYou were so helpless back then that we shouldâve just dealt with you then. But⌠you were in such a pitiful state, you know? But you understand, right? Sarcoma-chan, youâre one part of Sasamiâs body. If you stay cut off, then who knows what kind of irregular things will start to happen to Sasami.â
Tsurugi pulled out a beautiful sword from the scarlet bundle.
âSo Iâll just put you into a reaaaally faint sleep, alter you back to a lump of meat, stick you right onto Sasami again and fuse you back into one body. Then everything will be back to normal.â
âD-Donât screw with meâŚâ
I stood up, grinding my teeth angrily and glaring at Tsurugi.
âI-Iâll become free!â
I mustered all my strength and shouted that out loud.
âSasami and I mightâve been in the same body, but I was born and raised as a different consciousness! Do you know the pain of being trapped in someone elseâs body, not being able to do anything?! I was finally cut off, became free⌠so Iâm gonna live how I want to live! Not as another part of Tsukuyomi Sasami, but as myself!â
Yes.
Thatâs why I waited until the seals had relaxed and contacted the Tsukuyomi Shrine⌠I had hatched a plan to separate myself from Sasami with their help.
Because of my function, I could not harm Sasami.
After all, my first and foremost priority was the protection of Tsukuyomi Sasami.
But even then, I twisted that.
If Sasami lost the power of the Supreme God, then she would be protected⌠she would no longer be the âmain character,â and would be able to live a normal, peaceful life. I persuaded and tricked my instincts into believing that argument.
As for the actual task of separating myself from Sasami⌠I left that to the experts: the people at the Tsukuyomi Shrine.
And they⌠they did their job splendidly.
I escaped from the prison that was Sasamiâs body and became free.
Do you really think I could go back at this point, and just be trapped again�!
âYou idiotâŚâ
I laughed loudly and then glared again at Tsurugi.
âYou shouldâve dealt with me while I didnât have my memories! To think you wouldâve gone out of your way to remind me⌠donât forget, the power of the Supreme God rests in this body! Iâm the âmain characterâ of this world! And small fry like you⌠I could boil you, fry you, do whatever I want with you!â
I had separated from Sasamiâs body and taken the power of the Supreme God with me, so I had the authority to say that.
Gods could not disobey other gods with higher divinities.
So if I had the power of the Supreme God, then I was the strongest in every sense! I was invincible!
âI command you in the name of the Supreme God! You will-â
âGive it back.â
Tsurugi mumbled that, a determined, cold look on her face.
â
âThis toy is way too nice for a bastard like you.â
â
It happened in the next moment.
I felt something sublime getting sucked out from the middle of my body and moving to Tsurugi.
What followed was a feeling of exhaustion, as if the blood had been sucked right out of me.
I felt my hips give way from my arrogant pose. I lost strength and crumbled to the ground, gazing at Tsurugi with wonder in my eyes.
Right in front of meâŚ
Right in front of me stood an extraordinary existence.
âIf you came quietly without a fuss, I was going to treat you kindly too⌠you idiot, didnât I tell you before? The Supreme Godâs power was just something I had lent to Ninigi-kun. If I want it back, all I have is to ask for it and itâll become mine again. Donât go off arrogantly sumo wrestling in someone elseâs loin cloth.â
It felt like my retinas⌠no, my entire existence was going up in flames.
But the minute my eyeballs were burned up, I saw something so beautiful that it couldnât have belonged to this world.
Something with the sublime beauty and power of the sun.
âWell, donât worry. Itâs not like I donât take a bit of pity on you.â
Her tone was short and frank, but that beautiful something⌠she smiled.
âItâs not like Iâve ever really been a diligent god⌠but sometimes I can create a miracle or two.â
My body was melting⌠it felt like an ice cube put in the middle of a desert.
Ahh, but for some reason⌠it was a pleasant feeling.
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TRANSLATORâS NOTES
(1) The sword of Susanoo, a god in Japanese mythology.
(2) Japanese demons/monsters.
(3) Yes, in case you were wondering, tsurugi does translate to sword. It does make this sentence kinda awkward thoughâŚ
(4) I thought this was a Suzumiya reference, but upon googling actually seems to be a reference to the song UFO by Pink Lady.\n