Kays Translations

Chapter 9- Fishing

We got into a big camping car, unlike the black sedan my father usually drives, and Renji-san drove us to the site of the monster outbreak.

“The monster seems to have somehow taken over people and was on the rampage. We got a call that the monster that takes over people is of third-rank or higher, and this time you don’t need inspiration to see it, so we were told to get it out of there as soon as possible. But, well, I thought it would be a good learning experience for Itsuki-kun, since it was a rare opponent.”

Inspiration, as the term implies, is the power needed to see monsters.

It seems to be inherited, and any exorcist can have it, or it can be acquired as a result of long contact with monsters like Hina.

But most are born with it.

Therefore, such people can see monsters, but since ordinary people cannot see them, they don't make a fuss.

However, it seems that this is not the case this time.

The mention of people acting violently stung my memory of my previous life.

I operated the button on my hand, and a patrol lamp for emergency vehicles appeared.

I asked Renji-san, who had increased his speed after seeing the cars around him begin to avoid him.

“Is there such a thing as monsters taking over people?”

“Yes. Have you ever heard of fox possession?”

“Only the word, yes.”

Only in words, really.

“I see. Since ancient times, there have been monsters that have taken over people. The third rank monsters are the ones who can take over a person's body. Even the third rank monsters are not stupid. They feed on magic as inconspicuously as possible.”

“But, If that's the case, then why are they acting up?”

“I think it's time for growth.”

“...... Growth?”

“Huh? Didn’t I mention it? The monster grows by taking in people's magic power. The first rank monster can theoretically reach the sixth rank if left unchecked.”

“Eh?”

“Unlike people, monsters can increase their total amount of magic power.  The monsters who have gained power take roughly two actions. Either they are consumed by the all-powerful feeling of overflowing power, or they try to hide and gain more power. I guess this time it was the former.”

While the cars around us pull over to the side one after another, only the car with Renji-san and I pass through on the two-lane road. We were going 80 kilometers an hour.

“Itsuki, all you have to do is watch. What will you do in the future when the same kind of monster comes back to haunt you? I want you to watch and see what you can do about it.”

“Yes!”

"Well, don't be so defensive. It's almost like fishing.”

“...... Fishing?”

“Yeah, fishing.”

I, who had spent most of my previous life on the Internet, tilted my head, "Which fishing? But that part didn't seem particularly important, so I kept quiet. I could see the magic in Renji-san’s eyes.

So we arrived at a small shopping street.

The police had already surrounded the area, and a crowd of people had formed around it.

“Let's go around from the back. We don't want to be seen.”

“Yes!”

Renji-san parked his car alongside the police car and quickly got out.

A young police officer saw him and came running to him.

“What's the situation?”

“He was brandishing a knife, and three of us tried to subdue him as he was flailing about, but some mysterious force blew him up, leaving two with minor injuries and one in the hospital with a stab wound.”

“I got it. Where are they?"

“Right now, he’s holding the manager of a music store here hostage.”

The policeman pointed at the map.

This is a big deal.

It's the kind of thing that would normally make the national news, but Renji-san wasn't panicking. That means he’s used to this kind of situation. Hmmm. Being an exorcist is an amazing profession.

“I'll go around the back. Let them know I'm coming.”

“I understand. I'll pay you... what about your child over there?"

“He's my protégé.”

After saying that, the young policeman returned to his post.

Oh, can we get through now?

Maybe that guy is one of the 'post-processing' people that Renji-san taught me before. A person who aspired to be an exorcist but lacked the talent to exorcise monsters, but still had a sense of justice and wanted to help people. Such a person would join the police force and support the exorcists.

“This way, Itsuki-kun.”

“Yes."

Renji-san, who had memorized the map in a split second, was making a short detour around the crowd.

I covered my whole body with lightning and "strengthened" myself so that I wouldn't be left behind. I follow him as he runs like an adult.

“When cornered, a monster of the take-over type will take hostages. Sounds like the kind of thing a clever little guy who hides and gathers magic power would think of.”

“Yes, indeed.”

“That's why it's called fishing.”

Renji-san turns the corner and stops.

I followed his lead and stopped.

After that, there was a music store, where several police officers were standing in front of the entrance.

The young policeman who had just come running in told the officers nearby that we were coming.

And Renji-san, who was watching them, waited long enough for the discussion to be over, and then extended his guiding thread silvate.

“Itsuki-kun. Inside the music store, there is one man. Can you see him?"

“I see..."

If you curl the guiding silvate in front of your eyes like a lens and enhance it, you will be able to see inside the store. There is an elderly couple and a man who looks slightly younger than that - in his 40s - standing there with a bloody kitchen knife.

“Take a good look."

Renji-san said, and extended his guiding thread silvate straight out from the corner, looking at the man. It was like a fisherman casting his line out to sea.

“The important thing is that he does not realize that an exorcist has come. The monster that take over people will easily kill the people on board if they are cornered.”

Oh, I see.

The person who is holed up in there now is also a victim of the monster's manipulation.

Renji-san’s thread silvate slipped through the glass door and into the store, where it pierced the neck of the man holding the knife. At that moment, the man's movements stopped like an unplugged electric toy.

“...... I nailed it."

Renji-san, who let out a small leak, pulled out the thread silvate with great vigor a moment later.

The man collapsed like a puppet with broken strings.

As the police opened the door, Renji-san pulled out the monster he had just killed out of there.

At that moment, attached to the thread silvate, flying toward us was a black blur-like monster.

But it quickly takes human form and comes running faster than Renji-san can pull it off. Its face looked a lot like the person who had haunted the couples earlier.

A man in his forties running toward us with a grim face has a decent visual intensity, but Renji-san maintains a relaxed attitude.

"They make it harder to shoot magic by imitating people's faces. It's a common trick."

He continued with a smile.

“I'll leave it to Itsuki-kun to finish. You've come all the way here.”

Even if you say it like that, like 'I'll give you the delicious end of a pork cutlet”.

The first thing I did was to hit both legs of the monster that was coming toward me.

The monster was sliding down with too much momentum, scraping its face on the ground, but it didn't stop. It crawled to me with both hands. It was scared.

So, in order to finish it off, I stretched out my silvate toward its heart and created a stake with my "Transformation".

With a dull thud, the monster's body was pierced with a large hole, and it died.

It turned into a black mist.

“You see, that was fishing."

“Is it really....?”

“Really? Doesn't fishing usually end with finishing off the fish?”

No, it’s not over?

No matter what he said, it’s scary.

As I watched the black mist disappear into the air, I suddenly had an idea and continued.

“Do you mean the nerve clamping?”

“Yes, that.”

Is that what he meant by the finishing blow?

I might say it is.

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