After a while we had arrived at the sporting goods store I directed Shizuka towards. While her and the students were getting PROPER weapons and armor of some sort. I was staring down the soul of a woman holding a pile of stomped disfigured flesh.
"You have to realize that you're dead, and so is your child. There's no point in lingering here anymore, revenge would be wasted if the target's are already dead."
The woman looked away, letting the deformed flesh drop from her arms. The bloodied skeleton, her skeleton, also dropping from her corporal body and clattering against the pavement. Sighing I held my right hand out and sent her off with a smile on my face. Motes upon motes of small flaming lights starting to swirl around the woman, my Bane Rings glowing softly.
"For what it's worth, you were a great mother, and your child is waiting for you."
"Thank you… if you find my purse take what you need. I won't be needing it anymore, besides it only brings pain thinking about it…"
Flicking my hand upwards gently without any urgency, the woman's soul was swallowed by the motes of light. Until eventually they shrunk and flew elsewhere while disappearing completely.
"So that's Ascent?"
Without looking towards Kohta I answered. A purse appeared in my hands when I found it using my bag.
"Yes, Ascent sends them back into the reincarnation cycle or to another realm to be free. Honestly it's unknown what happens, just that it's known as the better choice compared to Descent. If a Banisher uses Descent, the soul, from a still living person or a spirit, has a known outcome, they get sent to the realm of the dead. Once there they are turned into Ghost Variants depending on their personalities and crimes.
I would know personally, given to fast travel across the ocean at times I would use a means that Witches favor. During the trip that involves hurrying through the realm of the dead, I'd run into those damned souls. They get more vicious and nearly damn immortal while in those lands which passively heals and boosts them."
"That doesn't sound fun… will I ever have to do the same thing? Damn a soul and eventually fight them in that realm if I wish to ever quickly travel somewhere fast enough."
Turning around I looked the teen in the eyes and didn't hide it.
"Yes. Some people even when dead are just not worth pity or a good time. They'll still be the same fucked up assholes they were even in death, and deserve to suffer for all eternity until their dues are paid. Sometimes it's also best to use Descent even on a living person that just isn't worth keeping alive because their crimes aren't light. How many people do you think I killed like that? It isn't to be done lightly either. You have to be sure they deserve that kind of death, like Shido. While I didn't use Descent on him, I did kill him by destroying his soul, because he wasn't worth letting live into this new kind of era."
Kohta was silent for a while before looking at his hands. The teen eventually seemed to come to some sort of conclusion, as he spoke in almost a whisper.
"Do I really have to kill the living as well…?"
"Yes. Either out of mercy in this new era of death and decay, or because if you don't kill them first once they attack. You'll be laying in your own blood, dead just like those you want to protect."
He stays silent at that, until I just pluck a bullet out of the air that was about to dome him. He was startled by my sudden appearance and the bullet, looking back to where it came from. I used my bag and did something cruel to the shooter who got up to run. With a flex of my will on the bag, I plucked all the shooter's organs from their body. As they were falling down dead I took the rest of their body into my bag, after letting their soul recognize their abrupt death. The soul of the shooter stumbles a bit before they're banished with a shot to the head. Kohta looked at me intently before closing his eyes and silently thinking about something.
"Thank you… and I'll think about what you told me… because your right if someone gets bit or is about to die to a horde then a mercy kill is something good… and just now if you hadn't…"
"Just think it all over carefully, you're not like me after all with essentially unlimited time."
Kohta looked at me with the most fake confusion I've seen in a long time. Shaking my head at him I smacked the dumbass trying a bit too hard to act like he really doesn't know what I mean. Kohta looked at me like I just kicked his puppy for doing that, that's when I noticed something about his current get up. He literally used some of the stuff in there to make a harness that was currently holding Skiá like a certain ninja in his hoodie. I stared at him hard, Kohta wilted a bit with a troubled smile.
"She kept trying to run off… so we did this and she seems to like it… just she's heavy… very heavy…"
"Fine, fair enough, and we'll just consider that weight training at times then by just carrying her like that. Also when are you going to stop pretending you don't know me? You agreed to my magical bullshit too quickly…"
"Ehehe… so you knew… Do you think my family is alive?"
"Your parents are very likely still alive, after all while they aren't Banishers, they are Hunters on the side if I remember what I was told right. Your grandparents are likely very much alive as well, possibly even becoming their own safe haven at sea. Given all the protective witchcraft I taught them after a Sea Scourge tried eating their ship during the extended end of World War Two."
"That's… that's good… and my parents knew about well… ghosts being real?"
"You're related to the man who tried getting me to marry his two year old, out of weird respect and traditions. So yes I know your parents and that they knew about spirits for YEARS even after getting their current jobs… live as long as me and you basically know everyone important unintentionally over time. Although you also meet strange things… like Truck-kun."
"The Isekai truck?... Why do you look both pissed and amused at talking about it?"
"Because that thing is a Divine Courier Spirit for ALL things divine, and it's also a demonic entity that sometimes eats souls. If you've ever heard about exploding trucks, or exploding truck factories then chances are I was involved. Because some of my jobs were to "Stop a truck from hunting me please! It's coming from everywhere trying to run me over! It even conjures up children about to get run over to bait me!" so I had to create Anti-Truck Bane Weapons…"
"Huh… so that's why my uncle's truck business was reportedly bombed eight years ago…" Kohta stopped talking before pointing behind me down the street.
"Carter-Sensie was that truck always running and clean?"
I didn't even give Kohta an answer, I just summoned my anti-truck weapon, a battering ram with various anti-divine/demonic/spirit runes and scriptures. Turning slowly to face the truck he was pointing at while talking I just STARED. I stared blankly at the truck that was just seconds ago bloody and had a zombie driver behind the windshield. But now the zombie was gone, and the truck was spotless and perfectly intact. For the first time Divine Anthemea showed its fangs, spiritual energy visibly coated my arms and weapon. I could hear someone not Kohta gasp at the sight, but I just couldn't care.
"Fuck off! You damned… TRUCK ASSHOLE OF A CUNT MOTHER FUCKING WHORE! JUST STAY DEAD LIKE A GOOD LITTLE DELIVERY BITCH TO THE DIVINES YOU ARE!"
In response the trucks light flashed to life, even during the day their light was damningly bright. The trucks front bumper and fender wrapping and twisting to become some fucked up mouth while it's tires exploded and became spider like legs. Its head lights turning crimson, behind the windshield the countless drivers souls it's consumed pressed against it screaming.
Swinging my weapon I felt my body fly with the swing, my arms turning into red mist in the air, my right leg wasn't there anymore as well I could tell. My battering ram, however, flew like a missile that was launched due to my unexpected boost in strength. Summoning a potion from the Stream while activating my own personal Witchcraft spell I stomped a phantom limb of my right leg onto the street. Chunks of concrete being sent flying while I watched my weapon nail the charging Demonic Divine Spirit. The damn thing not even trying to dodge, yet that seemed to be its demise.
[The Divine Anthemea Executioner sings his song from the Aether.]
'Walking these dusty streets the criminals run
Winds howling something fierce as if a beast
When you hear the footsteps fall you best hide
For the Executioners a coming and he ain't playing
He'll drop you with a quick draw bullet between the eyes regardless of if you're innocent or guilty
Don't cry, don't beg, don't try to run for the executioner doesn't care
He'll kill you dead before you even try
The hell bound executioner is coming and he ain't taking no prisoners'
When the weapon made contact, the spiritual energy and wind pressure trailing it turned into dark amethyst flames. Flames that seemed to come to life with the barest hints of golden eyes hidden within them that were full of malice towards the trucks' very nature.
'The hell bound executioner is coming and he ain't taking no prisoners
He'll see the rivers run red before his times up
He'll see everyone leaving in a body bag before the fights end
Don't run or try to beg, he'll not give you a chance
He's out for blood and he's not stopping until he's dead
Hells hounds nipping at his heels like starving beasts
Don't pray to your God, their already in a body bag
Don't pray to your God, their already in a body bag
Don't pray to your God, their already in a body bag
The executioner won't stop till the jobs done and the rivers run red'
The truck barely let out an unholy scream of pain as it's front half caved in first. The flames of wind pressure and spiritual energy curving around its back, a clawed hand forming. Gripping the back half tightly I saw it implode, the truck screeching in pain while the front half was caving further in. As my clothes mended themselves along with my missing limbs regrowing, I cackled as the truck died permanently in this world it would seem. An explosion followed my cackling with the manifestation of the Divine Anthemea disappearing.
[Kill a Divine Entity +777,777,777 SP]
[Permanently Kill Fragment of a Deity +666,666,666 SP]
[Divine Anthemea: Divinity Resistance C+]
[Divine Anthemea Executioner: Executioner's Song S+]
[Chimera Verse: Eternally Loyal Guardian, Granted Request by the Stream]
[Rewards: Chimera Manifestation D+]
"HA! Suck it you Truck I finally got your ass six feet under!"
"Bark."
"Yes I'm happy about it! And no I won't kill you… you're cute and none of the monsters awake, HATE you instinctively even if you're divine. Probably because you're still a child and a beast not a God even if you're divine in origin. Because my Divine Anthemea certainly doesn't want your death so you're just fine, if my racial trait wanted you dead. You'd have died the second you appeared."
"Arf…"
Kohta just shakes his head at me and his pup, as we both just seem to talk to each other perfectly fine. Which we are, the Stream auto translates everything, because damn does Pistí sound like a literal child. Eventually we were joined by everyone else and loaded back into the bus. Although I noticed some of the teens that were with us were gone. After some light prodding, Takashi tried to home run my skull after poking him. I figured out that they left to get away from me, which while fair is also stupid for people who can't survive.
So when we finished loading onto the bus we heard the screams start from the alleyways. A shop alarm sounded shortly afterwards with the sound of something exploding. With those sounds we left pretty quickly, although with our departure I invited Kohta to the Stream. Taking a mission from the Stream for a world that's had my interest somewhat, after all parrying Death is no small feat.
"Well Kohta, like we discussed I'll be taking some time to relax and learn new things. While letting everyone here get used to what they just saw, as that and the Undead Scourge weren't the worst things to witness. Plus… something tells me I'll benefit greatly from this little excursion."
"Stay safe Carter-Sensie… and I don't fear you really… I just couldn't handle that something like THAT actually existed aside from ghosts… to much has been dumped on me since the world ended then that happened…"
"Fair enough kid, no one expects to see the Isekai Truck, or it be murdered."
With those words I waved while disappearing from the bus entirely with flames consuming me.