What the hell was he thinking?
Genichirou Shoei stared in confusion at the scene laid out before him.
What the actual hell was he thinking?
It was so idiotic Genichirou let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head in disbelief.
He had killed Ariyama Saato. That was for sure. The part that confused him was Ariyama's last, desperate plan. He had managed to reach the girl – Genichirou had already forgotten her name – and turn to face the storm of blades heading his way. However, he didn't do that weird thing where he burst into an aura of blazing white heat and cast away Genichirou's knives instantly. No, instead, he swung his rusted sword lazily and deflected only four of the knives, letting the other eight spear through him.
That blonde bitch was awake now, screaming Ariyama's name like an annoying parrot. Genichirou was itching to kill her after this. Maybe he'd do something else to her first before killing her, all depending on how he felt. But right now, he was feeling annoyingly confused.
He stared at Ariyama, whose head was down, his chin resting on his upper chest, but he was still standing on his feet like a statue. The knives from Genichirou's Enchanted Tool stuck out of his whole body. All eight of them. There were two in his left leg – one through the thigh and one through the shin – then one through his right knee, two stabbing into his left arm, one through is right, one piercing his stomach and the last one having cut open a gouge across his collarbone before falling to the ground.
Genichirou's knife Enchanted Tool was called Thornblade Vorpalé, and it worked as such: Using the main knife that was the Tool itself, Genichirou could split it on the molecular level, into a maximum of thirteen copies at one time. Each knife hovered around him and could be fully manipulated by him. Each was also imbued with an ancient affliction from the Reverse World that caused pain to grow and spread across the whole body over time, the source being the main wound inflicted.
All in all, Ariyama was dead meat. With seven full magically-empowered knives piercing through him, and eight wounds from which the pain would only swell and increase over time, even if he was still conscious, one flicker of movement and he would feel the pain of being burned in the center of a volcano, times ten.
"Pfft… Hehehe… HAHAHAHA!"
It was HILARIOUS! Genichirou couldn't help but burst out in sing-song laughter at the bastard's stupidity. Genichirou hated losing, but he had to admit that Ariyama was a formidable foe, and even an intelligent one. But now it was obvious he was truly just an incompetent fool.
What an absolute idiot–
He moved.
Genichirou's blood froze in his face, the color washing out of his face and he noticed it and stared, slack-jawed.
What?
No, he was definitely seeing things, because it was absolutely impossible that it could be for real–
He moved again. His lip twitched, and he raised his head ever so slightly.
Genichirou instinctively backed up. He was seeing things. He had to have been…
But then Ariyama gritted his teeth and fully looked up. His gaze was hidden in the shadow cast by his fringe, but Genichirou knew in his soul that Ariyama was looking directly at him.
The boy let out a low groan.
Then reached up with the hand not still gripping his sword, and tore the knife out of his belly.
Genichirou couldn't breathe. Dammit, why was he so scared now? Impossible. It was because this was an impossible feat. How was Ariyama – someone who Genichirou was told only discovered his Enchanted Tool about a month and a half ago – able to withstand the excruciating pain from Genichirou's Thornblade Vorpalé?
When Genichirou was younger, and curious, he had cut himself on the arm with his knife, just to test the lengths of the pain spread. Within minutes, it had felt like his whole arm had been submerged in a lake of boiling water. Just imagining what kind of devilish pain the boy was going through almost made Ariyama throw up on the spot.
What kind of monster was this Ariyama Saato?
Genichirou was smart. He was a genius. So, how had he been so blind as to Ariyama's true capabilities this whole time?
Genichirou's whole body shuddered as Ariyama reached for the knives impaling his arms, and ripped them free, one by one. He was gritting his teeth, sweating profusely, tears streaming down his face. He was definitely not immune to the pain. He was feeling it. Every movement he made was sending waves of redhot pain coursing through him.
His whole body was drenched in red. The girl laying just behind him was crying too, but out of pure terror. Her hands were clasped over her mouth in horror. Genichirou had lost recollection of her name, but he knew she was headstrong. And yet, she seemed prepared to faint, like an old woman.
Ariyama had just the knives through his legs left, and he bent down slightly to grasp them and pull them free. And just like that, he was left without a single one sticking through him.
What kind of…
What kind of idiot was he?
Genichirou knew that the brat knew that once you remove a knife from a stab wound, the blood loss would increase dramatically. Sure, it gave him more maneuverability, but he was simultaneously signing his own death warrant.
Genichirou felt more relaxed now, all of a sudden. He was grinning again. He would watch in glee as Ariyama took one, maybe two, steps before he collapsed. He was pouring blood from all those wounds already, so perhaps he wouldn't even make it one step.
But for some reason, apart from the blood dripping off his clothes, Genichirou couldn't see any flowing blood on Ariyama.
Wait. There was maybe a chance. So, that was it all along? The bastard had–
Ariyama moved like a ravenous beast, raising his sword and diving at Genichirou.
Damn, he was actually kinda fast for a kid–
"AAAHHH!!"
Ariyama appeared beside Genichirou and brought his rusted sword up in a sharp arc, severing his hand from his wrist. Genichirou clutched at his stump as it poured steaming blood. He screamed. He screamed, and screamed and screamed some more. He walked backwards, trying to make distance between him and the demon that was Ariyama Saato.
But Ariyama didn't follow.
Genichirou stopped, raising a crazed brow in confusion. Just then, Ariyama wiped his fringe out of his face and gave Genichirou a manic grin.
"Run."
Genichirou's legs were moving him towards the hole in the ground before the panic even crushed his heart. Why? Why, why, why, why?
What was making him so damn scared?
What was in Ariyama?
No, it wasn't something that was in him.
That demon was Ariyama himself.
Genichirou knew what that little bastard had witnessed. He wasn't sympathetic, but he did recognise the brutality of what he'd gone through. Had that been what made him snap like this? What made him have all his anger built up within him to be used to be able to snap in the first place?
Genichirou had tears of fear rolling down his face as his mind caught up with his limbs, and he leapt into the hole in the ground. For a moment, he was weightless, before hitting the first floor below, twisting his ankle.
The sharp pain in his foot didn't come close to the searing pain he felt in his quickly-numbing stump that used to be his left hand.
That brat had told him to run, and goddamn him, he did just that.