Read Novel Full Chapter 8 part2
Welcome to Underground
The Grand Opening
Part 2
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Sunset on a summer day and the floating clouds have been dyed a deep red. It would soon be summer vacation, and Hasumi Touka, who had finished her daily routine of carving Buddha statues, was on her way home. Touka-chan always follows the same route home, and that route requires her to walk down a narrow road that's devoid of any signs of life. It's a short road that only takes a minute to walk down, but the trees in the park make a dead spot, making it a great assault point that can't be seen from nearby houses. Since Touka-chan doesn't really want to return home, she walks along with a gloomy atmosphere and heavy gait, but then she notices a long shadow suddenly extending toward herself. And then, she looked up ⸺ and encountered the world's darkness.
Touka-chan was flabbergasted. The world's darkness appeared to be about the size of a large dog, and looked like a thick black rubber bag that had been filled to bursting with water and then been put on the ground. If you look carefully you can see the stone core through the transparent surface, but there's no time for observation when a strange thing suddenly materializes into your ordinary, everyday life. I moved the darkness of the world towards Touka-chan. Touka-chan, who is in a dumbfounded state, merely follows it with her eyes.
*Fumu*. I thought that she would most likely scream and run away, but she's actually fairly calm. This is different than what I had planned. I'm just not able to understand this situation. *Maa*, I haven't even attacked yet. I guess this generation has become so used to seeing CG gross slimy monsters in movies and television that such a reaction might possibly be natural. Well, even if she doesn't run away, it's still fine.
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I moved 'world's darkness-kun' so that it wobbled towards her, made a feint, then attacked Touka-chan. *Ora~*, it's a heavy [Tentacle Punch]1! If it hits, it'll be a direct blow to the stomach, although I practiced over 100 times to make adjustments so that it won't be a huge injury or exceedingly painful. Touka-chan ended up falling on her butt. I stopped chasing her for a moment.
"Is she shivering in fear and become unable to move, scream, or run away? Well, whatever," is what I was thinking, when suddenly I became aware of Touka-chan quickly reaching into her breast pocket to take out papers with scriptures written on them and holding them tightly. She's going to use them to whack 'world's darkness-kun'!
Wow, I'm impressed! Certainly, if the opponent seems to be strange or evil, the [Buddhist Attribute] is likely to be effective! She realized that! I'll admit it, she's excellent at making instant decisions! But, unfortunately for her, [Sutra Punch] is ineffective on 'world's darkness-kun'. Her fist bounces off it. *Fuhahaha*, I'll return the favor! Have another [Tentacle Punch]!
The second punch hit her on the shoulder, causing Touka-chan to slowly start running away. It seems like she's crying while muttering the chant for the "Heart Sutra"2 and staggering around trying to flee. If she looks over her shoulder, she can see 'world's darkness-kun' creeping and slithering behind her, gradually coming closer and closer.
Touka-chan's face distorts in fear. Good, good, feel the pinch. She's so flustered that she's forgotten the basic counter-measure for this kind of situation; screaming and calling for help.
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Now! I send Kaburagi-san the 'GO' signal via my psychokinesis. Because Touka-chan was looking behind her while running away from 'world's darkness-kun', she wasn't paying attention at all to what was in front of her, and she ended up colliding into Kaburagi-san, who had revealed herself with perfect timing and was waiting for her at the corner. Kaburagi-san gently embraced her. Touka-chan could see nothing but black and white! To Touka-chan, who had no idea what was going on, Kaburagi-san said,
"You are…so, you have not yet awakened. Get behind me. I'll handle this."
Oh, she said it! It's a meaningful line that's a characteristic of the introductory scene for the extraordinary! I was so thoroughly engrossed in spectating at 'Amanoiwato' that I got caught up in the mood and unintentionally raised a beer can over my head. I also wanted to have such an extraordinary life. However, the extraordinary didn't come. But now! For the first time, I'm involved in the extraordinary, along with Kaburagi-san and Touka-chan! It's so exciting!
Kaburagi-san hid Touka-chan behind her back, then approached the world's darkness for a final confrontation. And then. The world was illuminated by the setting sun. From Kaburagi-san's voluptuous lips painted with bright red lipstick, came the decisive phrase.
"Time, stop."
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Because I was in a remote location, I don't know what happened in the 'world of stopped time'. However, if she did it the same way she did previously, Kaburagi-san should have stylishly cut 'world's darkness-kun' into pieces with her hidden rapier. But unexpectedly, in the interval immediately after Kaburagi-san spoke her lines and just before she activated her powers, Touka-chan ran. She seemed to be moving toward 'world's darkness-kun' in order to protect it from Kaburagi-san. Although she was trembling, Touka-chan spread out her arms and stood in the way of Kaburagi-san, saying,
"Killing is contrary to the way of the Buddha. I don’t know what this is. It’s probably a bad thing. Even so, please, at least spare its life…"
Umm - …Ah, yeah…that girl is a Buddhist…
What should we do…
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Kaburagi-san made a troubled expression. She subtly moves her lips and asks "Hey, what do I do?", but I don't know either. Please somehow redirect the flow, Kaburagi-san. Currently, I'm reading the atmosphere and - due to the 'no killing' situation - am having 'world's darkness-kun' remain still, but if needed, I'll have it attack from behind. Then, choosing her words carefully, Kaburagi-san attempts to persuade Touka-chan,
"It’s a pity but I can’t help but get rid of it. There is no life in the darkness of the world. It's just a mass of evil intention, similar to a natural disaster."
"Oh, so it's not a living thing? Well then, even if you get rid of it, no virtue will be lost. Go ahead then."
Touka-chan quickly moved aside. Is she really fine with this?! You're making me laugh, you know.
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Once again, Kaburagi-san stops time, and the darkness of the world finally falls to pieces. Unfortunately, at that moment, it started to rain, and neither one of them has an umbrella. Kaburagi-san and Touka-chan exchange glances. Kaburagi-san bends down a little and takes Touka-chan's hand. She looked into Touka-chan's face, and, noticing her mood, said,
"I know that you're confused. But if you're being targeted by the world's darkness, you're already no longer unrelated to all this. I want to explain everything to you. Will you come with me?"
Touka-chan thought for a moment. Then, the two ran into a car parked a slight distance away while being struck by the rain. The remnants of the world's darkness were washed away and quickly became inconspicuous.
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*Umu*, and that's the end of the first act. OK. Now, when Kaburagi-san brings Touka-chan to 'Amanoiwato', it'll be my turn to perform. Let's do this.
…Can I do this?
I'm growing anxious. I practiced, but I'm going to prepare cue cards, just in case.
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Footnotes:
1: Honestly, I have no idea if 'tentacle punch' is a reference to something or not, but it probably is at least making fun of this trope ⇒
2.1: If you want to learn more about the "Heart Sutra", here's the Wikipedia article ⇒ Wikipedia: Heart Sutra
2.2: Here's a recording of it in English, they also have a pdf of the English translation ⇒