kscans

After the barbecue where we’d stuffed ourselves with meat, we quickly washed up and enjoyed some ghost stories together.

Tomorrow would be our final day. Planning to make the most of it from early morning, we went to bed earlier than the previous night.

I had been sound asleep until just now, but…

(Great, way to spoil the mood.)

I woke up sensing something ominous.

Looking at the clock, it was the dead of night. Fortunately, Hikaru and Rika hadn’t noticed… No, that’s not right.

These presences were specifically targeting me.

I could give them credit for not wanting to worry the kids unnecessarily, but overall this was still a negative. If they were going to be considerate, they shouldn’t have attacked during our vacation in the first place.

(Good grief.)

I left the tent carefully so as not to wake Hikaru, and set up a barrier around the area stronger than any I’d made before.

It was sturdy enough that nothing short of a major deity from mythology could break through. Even if a deity-class being did show up, I’d sense their movement before they could do anything.

“…They’re above.”

We were currently near the foot of the mountain, and the presence I sensed was hovering slightly east of the summit.

Their sneaky intentions were obvious.

By summoning me this way and positioning themselves there, they were indicating they didn’t want to involve the innocent children and provoke my anger. They probably knew I’d shut things down immediately if I lost my temper. However, they weren’t far enough away to prevent involving the kids if things went south.

I took out a cigarette and lit it.

“Haaah… Let’s go.”

I kicked off the ground and soared into the sky, when—

“Let me join in too.”

“Takahashi… Why are you…”

Takahashi appeared before me, flying through the air. As I blinked in surprise, Takahashi said,

“What do you mean ‘why’? I sensed that kind of presence near the mountain where you guys are staying. How could I ignore it?”

He was supposed to return to Tokyo early tomorrow morning… or rather, today, since it’s past midnight. Even though he’s stepped back from the front lines, he should know how powerful I am now.

“…This is my fight, you know?”

“Your fights are my fights. I told you that before, didn’t I? Well, if you’re going to say I don’t have the right to say that after betraying you once, that’s the end of it.”

“Hah. If that’s what you’re saying, the same goes for me.”

“Then there’s no problem.”

“There is a problem since late nights are the enemy of beauty for a certain someone.”

“Idiot. A gorgeous woman like me isn’t going to fade from something that minor.”

“You’ve got nerve… Well, shall we go?”

“Yeah.”

With light steps, we rushed to the scene.

“Come on out.”

As I urged them, numerous figures wrapped in rags emerged as if carved from the darkness. They weren’t just anything. They were death gods. Not supreme ones like Hades, but death gods nonetheless.

There were enough to fill the sky, but even the strongest among them didn’t come close to Hades’ level. Still, they’d probably be classified as high-rank beings.

“Who are these guys?

“Probably Hades’ underlings, the one I killed a while back.”

“Hades… the King of the Underworld? You killed him…?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. I completely destroyed him.”

“You’re still talking nonsense… So this is revenge for their boss, huh?”

As Takahashi snickered, the death god who appeared to be the leader opened his mouth.

“—That is correct, uninvited guest.”

…But why do these death gods, including Hades, always have such oddly hoarse voices?

“Lord Hades has fallen… by the hands of a foolish human like you. Yet Lord Zeus and even Lady Persephone say we should leave you alone. What nonsense. We cannot accept this. That arrogance of yours that fears not even gods cannot be overlooked.”

Hearing those words, I couldn’t hold back.

“Pffft!”

I burst out laughing.

“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Oh man, these guys are so unlucky. So unlucky!

If I were alone? I’d probably have handled this matter-of-factly. But with Takahashi beside me?

Mentally, I feel like a teenager in full-on party mode. If Suzuki were here, he might have reined me in, but unfortunately, Suzuki isn’t here. Man, these guys are so unlucky.

Tonight, I’m in a nasty mood~

After all, they interrupted our fun vacation~

I have no reason to go easy on them now!!

“What are you laughing at?!”

“How could I not laugh? You’re telling such transparent lies.”

“Lies?! What are you saying?!”

Ah, drop the innocent act. It’s such a turnoff.

“Lies? What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m not saying they have zero desire for revenge.”

They probably do genuinely revere Hades. And it’s not wrong that they’d be happy to avenge him.

“But these guys are Hades’ subordinates. Subordinates of that Hades, you know?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Oh, Takahashi’s getting into character nicely too. This is going to be a fun night!

“You wouldn’t know, but Hades is an extremely serious guy~”

He’s the type who’d say “Let me help!” and take on someone else’s work if his subordinates were struggling even after he’d finished his own tasks. He’s meticulous, inflexible, big-headed, and quick-tempered… but he’s definitely not stupid.

“Actually, more precisely, he can’t afford to be stupid.”

“Can’t afford to be stupid~?”

“You and I, when we’re really pissed off, we’d charge in swinging regardless of our chances of winning, right?”

“I suppose so.”

“But Hades can’t do that.”

Hades was defeated by me multiple times. But those were never meaningless battles, at least not from his perspective. Being a death god, he can’t truly die, so he could continue even after defeat. Losing wasn’t really losing.

It’s like tackling an action game. You die and learn from it, that kind of thing. And in our final battle, though he was mistaken about some things, he came at me with what he believed was a winning strategy.

“I see… but these guys are Hades’ subordinates, not Hades himself, right?”

“Not quite. He’s the type who expects the same from his subordinates. He’d have trained them thoroughly.”

“Let’s say I were a death god. If there were another death god who wasn’t as skilled as me but was similar in temperament, I’d favor the latter. It would be obvious that trying to educate someone like me would be futile.”

“Plus, you can tell by looking at them. They deeply respect Hades.”

And such followers would challenge someone who killed Hades without any plan? Suicidal attacks would be the height of irrationality that Hades would despise.

“Though they’re angry, their disciplined rationality and reverence for Hades wouldn’t allow for such irrationality.”

“I see… so they have a different objective.”

“Yeah. But I don’t really care what it is.”

The issue is,

“These straight-laced types are putting on such a flimsy act for whatever their purpose is?”

It’s more jarring than seeing an old woman wearing a sailor uniform!

I mean, mature cosplay can be great in its own way, you know? There’s a good kind of jarring… But their kind of jarring is just bad. It’s jarring in a ridiculous way.

“Of course I’d laugh!”

“What did you say?!”

And then we both threw our heads back and pointed at them simultaneously.

“GYAHAHAHAHA! How laaaame!!!”

We laughed at them uproariously.