I Came Back but the World is Still a Fantasy!?

4-32: There is No Reason for Villains to Win (3/4)

Are your eyes just bad or are you just that pathetic?

Arrgh! Stop making fun of me!! Ill kill you, damn it! I swear Ill kill everyone here!!

Yoshihisa opened the chest part of his monk clothes and revealed what was inside.

At that, the girls immediately cried out, but it was not because of shame, but because what was underneath the monks clothes was not the chest of a man, but a strange, giant face.

It had eyes, a nose, a mouth, but it was not a humans face, but a beasts.

It resembled a clearer version of the face that appeared when the mask burned one of the wooden boxes earlier.

Oh, I get it. You combined it with your shiki! Thats why the presence of the curse littered this whole place! Tomoe said.

I figured that might be the case the moment you revealed the curse through your hands

Although they knew that the curse was somewhere around here, the presence of the curse covered the whole area, so they didnt have a precise location.

And because traces of the evil ki were also present within Yoshihisas techniques, the location of the curse was inadvertently hidden from their sensitive senses.

Hey, is it really okay to combine a shiki with that thing?

Hes probably prepared some kind of defensive measure, so it should be fine if its just a few hours. And besides, the shikis are essentially just terminals for them, anyway.

So if theres a problem, he can just cut the connection anytime, huh. Hmm

The mask seemed thoughtful.

But it was precisely that ever indifferent attitude despite Yoshihisas display of the curse that poured even more oil into the flames.

I see you have no intention on taking me seriously until the end, but that ends now! Be swallowed by the wicked ki and die while

Yoshihisa yelled angrily and was about to release the curse, but in that moment, darkness dyed his sight, and he couldnt see anything.

Since the evidence is here now, I have no more business with you.

WhatYou, basta

As it turns out, that was merely an illusion brought by the masks sudden approach.

The darkness that covered his whole vision was so dense hed mistaken it for the night, and despite his wariness and the distance between them, the mask had appeared right in front of him all too suddenly.

Immediately, Yoshihisa tried to distance himself, but it then occurred to him that he couldnt move.

Ku, what!?!?

He couldnt move to the left, or to the right, or behind him. He could move his limbs, but he couldnt move his body.

When a strange feeling assaulted him, he looked down, and there he saw the arms of the black mist penetrating his chest.

It went through his whole body and even through the strange face on his chest.

Unfortunately, because his shiki did not have organs and because he did not feel pain, he did not notice it.

No! Let go of me! Pull it out!!

It would be problematic if we drove you into a corner and you ran away, so I figured youd take it out on your own if I just provoked you a little. Your immaturity really helped me out.

!!

The mask ignored Yoshihisas wails, and laughed as he revealed the truth behind his provocations.

Upon realizing that hed been dancing on the masks palms, Yoshihisa wailed even louder, but what affected him the most were the scornful words of the mask that resounded in his ears.

Now, be goneDestroy him slowlyFire(Gorga)

Eek, uu, waaaaa!?!?

In a flash, his whole body caught fire.

Although he couldnt feel any pain, his body was still on fire. The fear he felt from that was immeasurable.

Despite the mask sticking so close to him, the fire did not spread, only slowly creeping up Yoshihisas neck as though the flames wanted to choke him. Before long, his shikis body collapsed, and incomprehensible voices screamed out from the curse within.

This guy really talks and acts like a villain, doesnt he? Ah, Youko, thats just a human-shaped robot thats being controlled from afar. I know you cant see it now because its covered in shadows, but you dont have to worry about the screams.

R-Right

Youko flinched when she heard Yoshihisas terrified screams, so Tomoe gave her an excuse.

At the same time, though, Tomoe sighed. She was the one who introduced the mask as their ally, so she wished hed at least consider her position.

Of course, he did seem to be trying to be considerate, given that hed covered Yoshihisa with himself, so that they didnt have to watch a human burn up, but

You bastard! Damn it, damn it, damn it allllll!!!

The fire covering his whole body, and his flesh burning up.

The shikis body couldnt feel pain, but watching everything through his eyes made him imagine that pain.

By the time he realized that there was no pain, the fact that hed humiliated himself so much in front of the mask infuriated him even more.

But the eyes behind the mask no longer held any interest in him.

They were still looking at him, but they were indifferent, as though they were looking at a worthless piece of stone by the road.

No matter how much he wailed, no scorn nor sarcasm left the masks lips.

The mask no longer had business with him, but being treated like that just annoyed him more, so he resisted even more recklessly.

Unfortunately, try as he might to flail about, the masks hold on him showed no signs of loosening.

He couldnt even calm himself enough to cast a spell.

But Yoshihisa did have one fearsome weapon left.

Hey, you! Go already! You still want to call yourself the greatest curse of our family with this sorry performance!? You cant even kill a single person, youre utterly useless! Anyones fine, just kill someone!!

Uoooooo

Like the howls of a beast, an unsettling sound that didnt resemble a living creatures resounded.

It was curious if it was because the curse heard the scorn of its master or if it was because its master tried to forcefully use it, but the evil ki shot out from Yoshihisas shiki to fly high up into the sky and from a lump of evil ki.

When Yoshihisa heard the sound of a tongue clicking, his whole face beamed.

Do it! Kill!!

This battle was completely their loss.

Even he had no choice but to accept that.

But that was precisely why he wanted to get back at the enemies just a little. Even if it was just a little, he wanted to make this ever composed specter cry.

Dyed in anger and humiliation, such thoughts dominated Yoshihisas heart.

No!

The curse with a strange face formed the face of a beast through the dense smoke and laughed.

As disgusting as it was, it resembled a human expression, and that made it even more repulsive.

Upon seeing that hideous face, the girl with the least resistance cried out, and no one would blame her for doing so, but that action decided the target of the curse.

Youko, get down!!

Realizing the crisis at hand, Tomoe took out several charms and stood in the way of the evil kis beast face.

For a moment, she wondered if her spells would be able to block the evil ki, but there was no one else who could help, so she had to do it.

She resolved herself to pour all of her knowledge and spiritual power into her next attack.

Hah?

But in the next moment, a foolish voice resounded.

In front of her, an arm clad in an even deeper darkness punched the curse beast.

For some reason, that punch landed right into the smoke-form lump of evil ki, and slammed the curse beast into the ground.

Moreover, that was properly a bare-handed punch, but only someone who knew that could be shocked by the masks action.

Unlike Tomoes shock, Yoshihisa just spun and then rolled on the floor laughing.

Ha, ha Hya ha ha ha ha!!! You touched it! Its over for you! Youve been cursed! Trying to make the curse disappear with a punch How stupid can you be? Hyahahaha!!

Despite being covered in flames, a grating, loud laughter erupted from Yoshihisa.

The beast that had been punched turned into a dark blue smoke and wrapped itself around the black arm, then it took on the shape of a wolf and opened its large jaw to bite at the mask.

Fangs bigger than the real thing aimed straight for the mask.

R-Run! Youko said.

W-What are you dazing off for!?

But despite the voices crying from behind, without any hesitation, the mask extended his other arm into jaws of the curse.

Ha ha ha, ha Eek!? Yoshihisa said.

The heck? And here I was seriously worried too. What a waste of my concern Tomoe said.

The mask did not even punch with his other arm, he literally just put it inside the mouth of the curse.

And yet that was all it took to make the fake beast disperse.

The sharp fangs couldnt even leave a single wound on the black mist, and neither could the curse even touch the black mists legs.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but unfortunately, my constitution prevents curses from working on me. Such concepts wont reach me no matter what you do.

W-W-W-What the heck is that? Ive never heard of such a thing!

Just a little divine secret of the world that you know nothing about. Its the same reason why a water gun cant push back a flood.

As the mask slipped out a chuckle, he lambasted Yoshihisas last act of resistance.

He even made it clear that any thoughts of victory on his part were nothing more than a misunderstanding.

In the face of the masks mocking voice, and the crescent moon smile under it, Yoshihisas pride was torn into shreds.

And thats why the curse will automatically be returned to you.

Trying to push back a flood with a water gun was a futile effort.

Any such attempt would simply backfire due to the difference in the amount of water.

Anyone knew as much, but the two practitioners froze.

Because the masks words were happening right before their eyes.

What?

Wh What, the, heck, is happening!?

And the burning shiki started to rot.

It rotted even faster than it burned, and before long, a repulsive smell filled the air as the shiki decayed.

Defenses have been put in place, so Yoshihisas main body wouldnt be affected, and he didnt feel any pain too, but the mental damage from that sight was even worse than watching his own body burn.

Especially, since this was a curse that they themselves had a prepared.

How did that saying go again? Curses, like chickens, come home to roost? In that saying, both sides are affected, but in my case, Im completely unaffected. You seem to have prepared for the rebound, but unfortunately, the concept here is different.

After all, even if theyd prepared for the rebound, in the end, theyd prepared it with the presumption that they would be dealing with a water gun(curse), so if a flood(an evil god) were to hit them instead, the shield theyd prepared would too easily fall apart.

Not only would it serve no purpose, it would have no effect whatsoever.

So, tell me. How does it feel to watch yourself rot from your own curse?

Ku, ah, ahhh!!

Maybe I shouldve given him his last rites after all.

As Yoshihisa cried out from humiliation and frustration, Tomoe looked at him with pity.