The road to the target was quite a distance away.
While asking Remi all sorts of random questions along the way, Junpei was able to get a sense of how things were working inside the Culling Game.
"After the big clash on the second day, the top-ranked players have been avoiding fighting each other. They’ve each staked out territory around their own base and hardly ever leave it."
Apparently, on the second day after the Culling Game began, a massive melee had broken out at the center of the barrier.
More than a hundred players had been caught up in it and died, and most of the top players’ points had been earned in that slaughter.
Once the chaos died down, a cold war atmosphere had settled in, with everyone keeping tabs on one another but not launching a full-scale battle.
"Wouldn’t it be more efficient to hunt other top-ranked players if you want to gather 1,000 points?"
"I don’t know about that. Go ask them yourself."
That was all Remi knew.
During the melee, she had gone to pick up points from the sidelines, only to witness a high-level battle and run for her life.
Junpei hadn’t expected much from Remi, who was basically a small fry, so this was already a pretty big haul.
'The top five ranked players are probably all incarnated types.'
He remembered the final conversation in Shibuya before the Culling Game opened.
Kenjaku had broken the contracts with the vessels, saying that he had high hopes for awakened types like Junpei.
He had definitely said he was leaving behind a few "select strong ones."
Strong people from the past, handpicked by Kenjaku for the last thousand years.
Their experience and strength were bound to far surpass modern sorcerers, and considering the difference in moral standards between the past and the present, it wouldn’t be strange at all for them to slaughter without hesitation.
They had been given a second chance after death, and since they had entered under contract from the very beginning, they had more than enough motivation to take part in the Culling Game.
There was one more thing to consider.
'Maybe one of those five is a jackpot.'
The winning lottery ticket Kenjaku had wanted, someone like himself.
A raw talent who, despite being an awakened type, could stand shoulder to shoulder with the strong of the past.
Either way, they were probably all a little crazy. Even Remi, right in front of him, had started slaughtering people not long after becoming a sorcerer.
"Let me ask you one thing. Why did you come into this place?"
"Huh? Because I don’t want to die, obviously."
"And the other awakened types are here for similar reasons?"
"Pretty much. Before they can even find a reason to fight, they get killed. And even if they try to avoid it, the rules force them into murder. They fight, and fight, and fight... and before long, some of them get swallowed up by power and start changing."
So the incarnated types had triggered their battle instincts, and the awakened types had naturally gone into combat mode as well.
There might be a handful of mutants who entered the game with a purpose from the start, but probably not even 2 percent.
Ordinary civilians without cursed techniques had been given a chance to escape at the beginning, but this was a different matter.
'Even if the Culling Game ends, there’s still a problem.'
Even if the game is over, can sorcerers who’ve already learned the taste of blood really live quietly?
They’d almost certainly drift toward becoming curse users, and it would be lucky if they didn’t end up on the news for mass murder or something.
Maybe this, too, was part of Kenjaku’s plan.
While Junpei was deep in thought, Remi stopped him.
"We’re here."
Before them, at their destination, stood a massive building that looked to be at least seventy stories tall.
Like the other buildings inside the barrier, it had a desolate air to it, but the fact that not a single cursed spirit was anywhere near it made it clear this was the territory of a true strong one.
"Thanks for your help. I’ll take it from here."
As Junpei was about to leave Remi, whose thoughts were impossible to read, and head for the door,
"You came, huh?"
a man stepped out from inside the building one step ahead of him.
"You are..."
"Nice to meet you, nameless boy."
A regent hairstyle with a distinctive forelock.
A leather jacket worn open, exposing a muscular upper body.
An aura that was obviously no ordinary thing.
"You already came knowing my name, right? I’ll skip the introductions."
Ranked second.
Ishigori Ryu greeted Junpei.
-------------------------------------
As soon as Ishigori appeared, Remi ran to him as if she had been waiting for that exact moment and threw herself into his arms.
"Lord Ishigori!"
"Good work, Remi."
"I-I did my best! Praise me!"
"Yes. You’re a good girl. Go on upstairs first."
As Ishigori patted her head, the sharp, cruel look on Remi’s face melted away and a goofy grin spread across it.
She glanced at Junpei, who was staring at her with a look of utter disbelief, and stuck her tongue out at him.
"What? What’s with that look? Just so you know, Lord Ishigori is really strong."
"Remi."
"Y-yes~"
Remi, who had been chattering excitedly, shut her mouth at Ishigori’s restraint and went inside the building.
It was blatantly obvious that he had been lured here, but surprisingly, Junpei remained calm.
Ishigori, tilting his head as he looked at him, asked in puzzlement,
"You’re not angry? Even though you were tricked."
"I figured as much."
For someone who had run away the moment he saw a battle, he knew far too much.
He knew Ishigori’s name, and even the fact that he lived here.
Junpei had thought it was strange how obediently he had accepted the invitation to be guided here, but yes, it had been a lure.
Though he had come along knowing that.
"Even if I was tricked, it’s not that big a deal."
"Oh? I like that confidence."
With a slight smile, Ishigori looked Junpei up and down as the latter raised his cursed energy.
There was no attempt to hide it; hostility was already rising off Junpei’s body, and Ishigori liked that very much.
When he had approached, his presence had been faint, but the moment he adopted a fighting stance, the atmosphere changed.
That meant the boy in front of him was a strong one who knew how to keep his energy in check.
"What’s your name?"
"Yoshino Junpei."
"I’ll just call you Yoshino, then."
Unlike Junpei, who was fully prepared to fight, Ishigori casually raised both hands high.
Junpei had thought he’d be the aggressive type, so when the other side instead showed a gesture of no fighting intent, he was a little confused.
Ishigori turned his back as if it didn’t matter and beckoned him over with a wave.
"Let’s eat first. We can fight after that."
"What are you thinking?"
"You came a long way. I should at least treat my guest properly. And besides..."
-You need to fill up a little before you can enjoy dessert, right?
Ishigori’s eyes sparkled like a child’s.
-----------------------------------
In the end, Junpei ended up sitting at the same table as Ishigori.
'How did it end up like this?'
As Junpei drank water with a conflicted expression, Ishigori calmly sliced into a steak.
The attendants he kept as subordinates moved in perfect coordination according to his instructions, setting the food out.
He had apparently gathered a pretty high-quality crew, because every dish was excellent.
Even so, Junpei couldn’t bring himself to touch the food easily.
"You’re not eating? What a waste."
"Would you be able to eat in this situation?"
"Are you worried there might be poison in it? Don’t worry. Messing with food goes against my principles."
"I’m not worried about poison. I’m asking whether you can eat when the enemy you’re going to kill is right in front of you."
Even with Junpei’s blunt tone, Ishigori wiped his mouth clean with a napkin and patted his stomach in satisfaction.
"Why not? In the end, it’s all about trying to ‘fill up.’ It’s all the same to me. Eating a meal, or fighting a great opponent."
As a palate cleanser, Ishigori took a sip of wine, then pushed the cleanly emptied plates aside.
The subtle pressure to eat was obvious, and Junpei had no choice but to start picking at the food in front of him.
Fortunately, it was delicious.
"I don’t do this for just anyone. I only invite people I acknowledge."
"So I’ve earned your favor, then."
"You have. More than enough. I’m practically stuffed."
Perhaps simply eating together like this was Ishigori’s version of some kind of ritual.
That sort of thing happened often in manga and movies, didn’t it?
Sharing drinks with a worthy rival, or sending gifts.
Eventually the last dish arrived, and after they finished that as well, they set down their utensils.
"So? Are you full now?"
"Yes. It was delicious."
"I picked it all out carefully. They’re people I’m protecting, too."
Junpei was a little surprised at that.
So it wasn’t just a matter of subordinates, but a mutually beneficial relationship?
Ishigori was unexpectedly a man overflowing with romance.
'Why would someone like this have gathered 185 points?'
The more they talked, the less Junpei understood.
Maybe because he was a sorcerer from the past, there were differences in values, but he couldn’t detect any antisocial tendencies.
And yet he had fought tooth and nail to rise to second place. Did this man have some goal he wanted to achieve?
Junpei found himself wanting to know more about this bizarre man.
After the meal, once the attendants cleared the table and withdrew, Ishigori took a cigarette from his pocket and put it between his lips.
Almost instinctively, Junpei also pulled a cigarette from his front pocket, following the smoker’s reflex.
"Oh, you smoke too?"
"I started by chance."
"Back in my day, the concept of being a minor was pretty vague. Even now, with modern knowledge, it still doesn’t really feel real."
He exhaled the deeply inhaled smoke into the air, leaving a bitter aftertaste lingering in his mouth.
The two men smoked in silence for a while, and it was Junpei who broke the lingering quiet first.
"Why did you join the Culling Game, Ishigori-san?"
Modern sorcerers had been forcibly awakened into cursed techniques and dragged into it, but the sorcerers of the past were different.
Kenjaku had already informed them that they would be taking part in a death game.
Junpei wanted to know why he had wished for a second life, why he had thrown himself into this chaos.
After a brief moment of thought, Ishigori slowly spoke.
"Who knows. I’m not really sure myself."
"Huh?"
Junpei frowned at the unexpected answer, and Ishigori gave a hollow laugh.
"It’s not easy to explain in words. I can feel that something is lacking, but I don’t know what it is. Have you ever felt that kind of vague emotion?"
"Well... I’m not sure yet."
By the time he had finished one cigarette, Ishigori pulled out another, put it in his mouth, and lit it.
As he sent boredom, excitement, and all those complicated, mixed feelings up in smoke, he finally felt like speaking honestly.
As expected, this cigarette had a slightly sweet finish.
"My first life was in a state of being ‘a little short of full.’"
He fought worthy opponents.
He met beautiful women.
It was a life with no shortage of money or power.
"Honestly, if you asked whether I have regrets, I wouldn’t really say I do."
"Then why..."
"Would you understand if I said it was because I wasn’t full enough?"
That vague thirst is really annoying.
I don’t even know what it is myself, and other people just look at me like, ‘What are you unhappy about?’
"My life had no dessert."
There was no one who could beautifully decorate my end, no one who could accept all of my desire.
He understood it in his heart. But he couldn’t understand it in his head.
Ishigori was unquestionably a strong one. There was no doubt that he had been strong both physically and socially, and yet here he was, wanting something absurd.
Junpei could only guess that it was some kind of self-destructive desire.
"If you want to fight strong opponents, then just do that. Right here in this game alone, there are top players like Kashimo, aren’t there?"
"Ah, those guys. I nearly choked trying to eat too fast. That was when I finally understood the beauty of fine dining."
I can pour everything out, sure, but that still isn’t enough.
What I want is a perfect finish.
Whether I win or lose, it has to end there, as a matter between just me and my opponent.
"This current Culling Game... how should I put it? It’s like the last sausage left on the plate, with everyone watching to see who’ll grab it first."
"So if the balance breaks, everyone will join in."
"I do want to fight Kashimo. I won’t deny that. But if I win, or if Kashimo wins, will it end there? No. That old fossil Dorobu and that bitch Uro will be waiting for a chance to go for the throat of whoever’s left. That weird lawyer guy is a little different, though."
That wouldn’t fill him up.
He didn’t like this stalemate formed by the current tense balance. Unless it was the final battle over 1,000 points, it wasn’t enough.
And yet he had waited because he had hoped someone would come and break this boring cold war.
He just hadn’t expected that first strike to be himself.
"So I had Remi bring me anyone who looked promising. They were all dried-up muffin-looking bastards, though."
"......"
"And now, at last, I found it. The sweetest raw gem."
By now, Ishigori had finished his cigarette and was smiling.
A face lit by the sweetness of the fight that was about to come.
'Here it comes...!'
The conversation was over, so what remained was obvious.
"Yoshino. You’re my dessert!"
Ishigori rushed at Junpei as he raised his cursed energy.
In the sensation of time slowing down, an ashtray flew through the air, and through the gap, the tip of Ishigori’s hair glinted.
Granite Blast
Boom!
The cannon of cursed energy fired, shattering the building’s windows.
Looking down at Junpei falling through the opening, Ishigori ran a hand through his hair.
"Now then, let’s start gobbling you up!"
"I’m coming."
A life-or-death battle over 185 points.
The balance of the Culling Game begins to collapse.
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