Chapter 12: Tag is Fun, Isn’t It~?
To answer Kazuma’s question, Stephen took out the tablet he had brought with him.
Having heard from Alicia beforehand, Stephen had accurately, carefully, and clearly compiled the information Kazuma was seeking.
Displayed on the tablet was the profile of Anthony Augustus, the man who had attacked Alicia.
Stephen showed Kazuma the document, which included his height, weight, age, personality, and a photo.
“Is this him?”
“Yeah. Anthony Augustus. He’s a notorious criminal Alicia captured several years ago. He goes by the alias ‘Acid,’ and true to his name, he’s a Gifted who manipulates acid. He was in prison, but it’s believed he likely escaped with someone’s assistance.”
“Someone helped him escape?”
“That’s highly probable. After all, this guy possessed three Gifts.”
“What? Three Gifts? But his profile only lists acid as his Gift, doesn’t it?”
“Mr. Satsuki. You, of all people, should have an idea, shouldn’t you?”
Stephen, glancing at Kazuma, seemed to already know the answer.
Hearing his words, Kazuma recalled a certain possibility.
“Don’t tell me… the Ivera Church?”
“That’s our strong suspicion. We believe they are the culprits. This whole series of incidents is a large-scale terrorist attack by the Ivera Church…”
“Do those guys really have that kind of power?”
“We don’t know. However, you encountered them too, didn’t you? Those deviants whose Gifts had increased to two.”
“…Inoue and Tamura, huh.”
“I don’t know the culprits’ names, but there must have been a mastermind behind that incident where you disguised yourself as the Silver Knight.”
“And you’re saying that’s the Ivera Church?”
“We don’t have conclusive proof. But currently, the Ivera Church is the most suspicious.”
“Hmm…”
Kazuma didn’t know much about the Ivera Church.
His knowledge was limited to the common public perception: a crazed occult group that gathered non-Gifted individuals and carried out terrorist attacks in various places.
Could such an occult group truly orchestrate a terrorist attack of this magnitude?
No, that should be impossible.
However, unbeknownst to Kazuma, the Ivera Church was the largest in the world in terms of scale.
They likely possessed abundant manpower, funds, and resources.
In fact, their research on Ibinom might even be the best in the world.
This was something even Stephen didn’t know, but the Ivera Church’s technological prowess was number one in the world.
They had succeeded in condensing Ibinom blood and, by ingesting it, dramatically improving physical abilities and even awakening new Gifts.
The failures produced in that process were drugs that turned people into Ibinom—exceedingly convenient for the Ivera Church.
“Well, we’re currently investigating that matter, so you don’t need to worry about it. The bigger problem is this guy.”
“Right. Do you know where he went?”
“Based on what we’ve heard from the evacuees, I believe he’s in this area.”
Stephen operated the tablet, and the location displayed on the map app was the city Alicia had been trying to reach to provide aid.
“The military is currently suppressing Ibinom in various locations, but honestly, the situation is dire. Our頼みの King is engaged with an Ultra-Large Ibinom on the West Coast, and Alicia is also…”
“There are other powerful Gifted in America, right? What about them?”
“They’re too far from here, and they can’t cover as wide an area as King or Alicia. Those two can fly freely, after all.”
“Ah, I see. Well, I won’t be satisfied until I personally send this guy flying.”
“Hahaha… Get one in for me too, please.”
“Leave it to me. By the way, I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it? If it’s something I can do, I’ll do anything.”
“Give me that translator and terminal.”
“Ah, of course. I brought a set for you. I figured you’d need them.”
So saying, Stephen took out a translator and terminal he had prepared for Kazuma from his Dimensional Storage (Item Box), his own Gift.
Kazuma received the translator and immediately equipped it, stowing the terminal in his pocket so as not to drop it.
“Hmm. Is this good?”
“That’s fine. It’ll translate for you automatically.”
“Convenient. Well then, I’m off.”
Just as Kazuma turned to leave, his preparations complete, Stephen called out to him.
“Mr. Satsuki. Thank you.”
“It’s not over yet. Save your thanks for later.”
“…Sor—no, I know this might not be the right thing to say, but can I leave this to you?”
“Yeah. Leave it to me. I’ll have this all wrapped up by dawn. So that when Alicia wakes up, she can have the biggest smile.”
“Mr. Satsuki… You’re… pretty cool.”
“You didn’t know? I’m the strongest and coolest guy in the world!”
Kazuma, flashing a bright, carefree smile, gave a thumbs-up and departed from Stephen.
Watching him go, Stephen was convinced that he truly would finish everything before dawn. With the utmost respect, he gave a sharp salute.
“Alicia. You were right. He didn’t need any chains. We should have just approached him with sincerity from the start…”
Her choice had been the right one.
Not a single thing was wrong.
There was no need for pointless maneuvering with Kazuma.
They should have just treated him as a good neighbor, without lies or deceit, as written in the Bible.
“He might just end up saving not only America but the whole world…”
◇◇◇◇
While Ibinom rampaged through the city, one man was committing every imaginable atrocity.
“Gyahahahaha!やっぱり, the outside world is the best~!”
In the dead of night, Anthony, having found a couple hiding in a house reduced to rubble, had beaten the husband half to death and was about to melt his wife with acid.
“Stop…! Please, stop—!”
“Hahahaha! You get to watch your beloved wife melt into goo right before your eyes!”
With a cruel smile in front of the husband, Anthony laid his hands on the man’s wife.
The husband desperately crawled closer, trying to stop Anthony’s brutality, but his speed was slower than a sluggish tortoise.
However, that sight seemed unbearably amusing to Anthony; the corners of his mouth turned up, and he let out a gleeful laugh.
“Hiyahahahahahaha! How touching~…! Man, I’m so moved, tears are welling up~”
“P-Please! If you’re going to do it, do it to me! Spare her!”
“O-Oh~! What wonderful love! I like it!”
Taking Anthony’s words at face value, the man found a glimmer of hope.
His wife would be saved.
Dying was terrifying, but if his beloved wife could be saved, he didn’t care what happened to him.
As the husband thought this, Anthony’s lips curled, and he grinned, baring his teeth like a demon.
“That’s why you get to watch your wife melt from a VIP seat.”
“Eh…”
“Kyaaah!”
Saying so, Anthony grabbed the wife’s hair, dragged her in front of her husband, and produced acid in his other hand.
“Now, you make sure to watch closely with those eyes of yours, the moment your wife’s face melts into goo, okay~?”
“Ah, ah, ahhhhhhhhhhh!”
“Aaaahahahahahahaha!!!”
As if to show off to the husband, who was screaming in despair, Anthony let out a laugh tinged with madness and was about to pour acid on the wife.
“Tch…”
At that moment, a gust of wind blew past, and Anthony instinctively closed his eyes.
Frowning, wondering what that wind just now was, Anthony opened his eyes.
And the moment he did, he witnessed an astounding sight.
“M-My arms—?!”
Anthony’s arms were gone from the elbows down.
No, to be precise, they had been torn off.
It looked as if they had been forcibly ripped off, mangled beyond recognition.
“Ah, ah, ahAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”
“Quit your yelping, you damn fool.”
“Ugeh!”
Anthony, who had been screaming from the襲い来る激痛, was kicked in the abdomen and sent tumbling into a pile of rubble.
“Aguh…! Who the hell did that!”
With a demonic expression on his face, Anthony searched for the culprit who had likely taken his arms.
Then, right in front of him, stood a knight clad in crimson armor.
In his hands were Anthony’s severed arms.
“Y-You! You’re the one who—”
“Shut your stinking mouth.”
“Gehyo!?”
The moment Anthony tried to complain, he was kicked in the jaw.
Its power was enough to easily gouge out the jaw of Anthony, who was using Body Enhancement, and his lower jaw vanished.
“I’m glad you’re scum. It means I won’t feel a thing killing you. But rest assured. I won’t kill you. You still have value. I’m going to make you tell me exactly who you got that power from.”
Looking down with cold eyes was Kazuma, disguised as the Crimson Knight.
Not only had Alicia been harmed, but seeing Anthony torment and toy with innocent people, Kazuma discarded all emotion.
He decided then and there to kill Anthony, simply, coldly, and cruelly.
However, despite having made that decision, Anthony possessed a Gift not listed in the materials received from Stephen. Suspecting Anthony might know something Kazuma and the others didn’t, Kazuma changed his plan from killing him to capturing him.
“Let me tell you. Don’t think you’ll die an easy death. You will suffer for every life you’ve taken, for every sin you’ve committed. You will come to know that death is a salvation.”
Assaulted by an indescribable fear, Anthony fled like a startled rabbit, but his opponent was Kazuma.
No matter where he tried to flee, he couldn’t escape.
Once Kazuma had locked onto him, he could never escape.
“My, my, where do you think you’re going?”
Kazuma, appearing at Anthony’s escape route via Teleportation Magic, was behaving just like a villain.
“Ah, uh, aaaaah!”
Anthony’s eyes widened at Kazuma suddenly appearing before him. Breaking out in a cold sweat, his face contorted in terror as he turned back.
However, Kazuma appeared before him yet again.
Startled, Anthony’s legs gave out, and he fell on his backside.
Overcome by such terror that his legs gave out, Anthony tried to crawl away, but Kazuma stepped on his back, preventing his escape.
“Come now, what’s wrong? You were laughing so much just a moment ago, weren’t you? What’s wrong? Laugh, why don’t you?”
Unable to speak properly, Anthony pleaded for forgiveness, but he was only making “au, au” sounds, and Kazuma couldn’t understand what he was saying.
Kazuma, still stepping on Anthony’s back, crouched down and brought his ear closer, but since he couldn’t understand what Anthony was saying, he asked again.
“What are you saying? I can’t understand at all~”
Anthony was repeatedly trying to say, “Forgive me,” but because he had no lower jaw, he couldn’t pronounce it properly, and in the end, he even started crying.
“Here, I’ll heal you, so try saying something.”
Kazuma healed Anthony’s lower jaw with Recovery Magic.
Finally able to speak, Anthony desperately began to make excuses.
“P-Please! Forgive me! It was my fault! I’ll never do anything bad again, so please save me!”
“Didn’t I tell you earlier? That I wouldn’t kill you.”
“Th-Then—”
“I only said I wouldn’t kill you. I never said I wouldn’t make you suffer.”
Hearing those words, Anthony’s face colored with despair, but as if in a final act of resistance, he spat at Kazuma.
The saliva Anthony spat transformed into acid. An ordinary person hit by it would inevitably suffer serious injuries, but it had no effect on Kazuma.
“Don’t spit such filthy things.”
Seeing it blocked, Anthony understood that there was no escape for him.
As if in a futile struggle, Anthony began to wail, his previous demeanor vanishing as if it were a lie.
“Damn… Damn it! What the hell are you! I was finally about to be free!”
“I’m Alicia’s friend. That’s why I came to thrash you for hurting my friend.”
“Wh-…! Alicia Miller’s avenger! Hehehe! That girl’s dead, right!? She is, isn’t she! Serves her right!”
“What are you talking about? I healed Alicia.”
“Lies! My Gift ensures that those injured by my acid can’t be healed! I have a Gift that inflicts incurable wounds!”
“You saw it earlier, didn’t you? Just like I healed your lower jaw, she’s perfectly fine.”
“D-Don’t mess with me! I don’t believe such nonsense!”
“You’ll probably meet her later, so you can confirm it then. I don’t have any more time to deal with you, so just drop dead.”
“Pugeh!”
Kazuma silenced the persistently noisy Anthony by slamming his fist into the bridge of his nose.
Since it would be troublesome if Anthony woke up and rampaged, Kazuma created a pot with Earth Magic and threw him inside.
While carrying the pot with Wind Magic, Kazuma rescued the couple who had been attacked by Anthony earlier, saved other people remaining in the town, and annihilated every last Ibinom.
“Well then, I’m off.”
“Um!”
“Hm?”
“Thank you very much! Thanks to you, my wife wasn’t killed, and I was able to get her back safely.”
“That’s not it. Your courage saved your wife. It’s thanks to that I made it in time. Treasure your wife.”
“Y-Yes! Thank you very much!”
Kazuma made the pot containing Anthony float with Wind Magic and began his return to Stephen.