I'll kill you after I finish this game!

The two landed on the rooftop of the private Tsukinosawa Academy. Skadi sat in a chair and calmly said:

"Second only to that woman in terms of troublesomeness, we're a little short-handed on this side."

"Aren't there still people on the Black Round Table side?" Nanami mentioned the Beast Legion, whose troubles were no less than those on the other side, and said, "Fujii Ren still has time. Even if you can't make an appearance yet, I can still buy her a lot of time."

Upon hearing this, Skadi stroked her chin, thinking of someone with a significant karmic connection to Fujii Ren, and chuckled:

"Indeed, I suppose one of Lian's 'comrades' would not allow outsiders to disturb their holy war."

Nanami could guess who Skadi was referring to, but she didn't expect that Fujii Ren had a significant connection with that lifeless man.

The Black Round Table did not care about or stop the cultivation of Fujii Ren.

After all, there was a top expert from the Black Round Table who was eagerly anticipating a life-or-death confrontation with Fujii Ren every moment.

Fujii Ren's desire to achieve his goal is closely related to the other party's desire. If possible, he would never stop Fujii Ren from coming to him as a strong person.

Driven by a strange friendship, he desperately wants to kill Fujii Ren, but he also seeks a glorious death after a fair and square battle with Fujii Ren.

It's a contradiction, but for Skadi and Nanami, who are temporarily protecting Fujii Ren, it can be considered a temporary barrier.

As for the newly introduced and unfamiliar presence, most viewers sensed from Skadi's words that the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense.

[Golden Fairy]: Several more troublesome-looking guys have appeared. Seeing this, you can feel the prelude to war.

[Vehicle Killer]: The man and the boy next to him just now, judging from their attire, looked like Japanese Shinto priests.

[Banga]: But judging from the methods the other party has shown, they seem to be a true Onmyoji.

[Bishop of Destiny]: Judging from Skadi's words, she doesn't belong to the Black Round Table side, but rather to the other side that intercepted them that night.

【Black Reading Princess】: Moreover, considering that Skadi and Nanami consider him a troublesome being, and the power he has shown, he is probably a powerful mage-type individual.

[The Seven Deadly Sins Leader]: This world is really dangerous. Most of the guys who appear have power comparable to that of a god.

【Blue Ribbon Goddess】: Although we also have gods in our world, they are not as outrageous as the God of Seeking the Way and the Overbearing God in the video.

.........

Meanwhile, on the other side, Fujii Ren, whom Skadi was nagging, was strolling around the campus during break time.

However, she now has someone by her side who can communicate and chat with her, namely Sakurai Hotaru, who has been her sparring partner until now.

After spending some time together, Fujii Ren also keenly noticed that Sakurai Hotaru, compared to the other black round tables, had much less of a gloomy atmosphere and tension.

At least according to most common sense, the other party would not interfere with peaceful daily life from the perspective of a demon.

Although their relationship wasn't particularly good, they were still able to have conversations.

"...Where did Rusalka go?"

Under the shade of a tree on campus, Fujii Ren looked at Sakurai Hotaru, who had a cold expression on her face, and asked her a question.

Although he really didn't want to see Kurohara Taka's presence, sometimes when the other party suddenly disappeared from his sight, Fujii Ren would worry that those guys might be up to something in the dark.

Fujii Ren understood Skadi's meaning; the Black Round Table was a little more reassuring in the open than in the shadows.

"asked for leave."

Sakurai Hotaru looked calmly at the students playing on the playground and said in a nonchalant tone, "It's really good for you that you said you don't want to see me for the time being."

"..."

Fujii Ren remained silent. In her mind, this sentence meant that she didn't know what she would do after seeing her again.

While this situation is unwelcome, such a reaction is somewhat understandable.

Fujii Ren glanced at his right arm, which indeed felt heavy. With this, he could fight them off.

"So I can assume that the next time I see her will be the beginning?" Fujii Ren said bluntly.

"probably."

Hotaru Sakurai nodded with her eyes closed, responding calmly.

It's incredible to be able to communicate with this guy like this.

"By the way, why are you still coming to school? Didn't your senior tell you you could stay at home?"

If possible, Fujii Ren still hopes that this girl will be kept in good care of by her senior. Although her power has been sealed, there is always someone from the Black Round Table who can save her.

Upon hearing this, Sakurai Hotaru crossed her arms and said indifferently, "Although I am a prisoner of war, that woman also gave me limited freedom. Whether I come to school or not is my freedom."

"Going to school isn't a happy thing for you, is it?" Fujii Ren frowned and asked bluntly.

Skadi is at the school mostly because of her, and also because I need to keep an eye on the altar nodes here.

Because she wanted to protect Kasumi, Fujii Ren also wanted to protect the school.

She enjoys the daily life at school, but she doesn't think people like Hotaru Sakurai can.

"No, I am indeed very happy."

Sakurai Hotaru responded to Fujii Ren's question quite naturally.

Stop talking nonsense. I clearly don't have a single friend, and my life at school is just a monotonous routine.

This blatant lying infuriated Fujii Ren, so she glared fiercely at Sakurai Hotaru, but she completely ignored her and remained unmoved.

It's like casting pearls before swine.

"Please don't think of me as one of those ancient elders at the Black Round Table. My age and appearance are the same. Can't someone your age experience school life?"

"...I really couldn't tell."

Fujii Ren was slightly surprised. She really didn't expect Sakurai Hotaru to look as young as her, unlike that witch who deliberately pretended to be young.

But why would someone of this normal age want to get involved with the Black Round Table group?

Was it for power? Or for something else?

"You're surprisingly wicked, Ren. I was human before I became a demon."

Sakurai Hotaru felt it was necessary to correct Fujii Ren's mindset and perspective, which showed he didn't see himself as a normal person.

After all, compared to the others in the Black Round Table, she was definitely among the normal people.

"So, besides the transmutation array, what other purpose do you have?"

Fujii Ren stared intently at Sakurai Hotaru, trying to see through her normal facade to her true self. She said, "As my senior said, besides the common goal of your organization, you each have your own different goals, right?"

We don't know what the other guys' motives are, but what are the personal motives of this person in front of us?

"...For example, suppose Ayase Kasumi died."

"...What!?"

This sudden veer off-topic assumption startled Fujii Ren, who didn't understand what the other person meant, but she didn't sense any malice; it was just a simple analogy.

However, this analogy still made Fujii Ren secretly unhappy.

"Think of other people who are important to you, like Himuro-senpai you know, or your friend Yoru who dropped out of school. Let's assume that person is dead."

Faced with Sakurai Hotaru talking to herself, Fujii Ren couldn't help but want to interrupt her, saying, "...Hey, wait a minute."

This guy suddenly started talking nonsense, and this assumption was something Fujii Ren couldn't ignore or just laugh off.

"Don't be angry, I'm not threatening you."

Seeing the anger already showing on Fujii Ren's face, Sakurai Hotaru calmly continued, "Just think of it as a casual chat about negative topics... People our age like to discuss these kinds of things, right?"

After all, some classmates had talked about what to do if their boyfriend, girlfriend, parents, or siblings suddenly died.

Death can be accidental, murder, or suicide.

"What would you do if someone important to you had their life taken away for no reason, Lian?"

Sakurai Hotaru's gaze was calm and terrifyingly deep as she looked at Fujii Ren and uttered this undeniable hypothetical statement:

"They say they cry, feel sad, feel desperate, get angry, feel regret, and feel hatred. So what about you?"

When someone close to you suddenly dies, what do you think and do?

"..."

Faced with this heavy topic, Fujii Ren was speechless. Although the other party spoke in a nonchalant tone, his voice sounded as if he were interrogating her.

Although caught off guard, Fujii Ren still answered.

"It depends on the situation. Accidents, deaths from illness, and murder are different situations, and people's thoughts and actions will be different as well."

"You didn't seem to mention suicide," Sakurai Hotaru raised an eyebrow, pointing to the unmentioned suicide.

However, when asked about suicide, Fujii Ren answered very directly: "Suicide is being killed, which means that someone forced him to choose death. If it is his own fault, then he killed himself."

The reason she answered so directly was because Fujii Ren knew that her friends would not commit suicide.

Aside from Himuro Rei being somewhat unfathomable, Shirou and Kasumi are definitely not those kinds of people.

"I see."

Hotaru Sakurai nodded thoughtfully and continued to ask, "So, in the end, what would you do for those dead people?"

"...For the dead?"

I'm a bit confused about the concept of Fujii Ren. Japan isn't like the mainland where people burn paper money for worship. Although there may be similar practices, they are completely different.

In any case, Fujii Ren intuitively believes that no matter what the living do, the dead are still the dead.

So whether it's commemoration or revenge, these are personal actions taken by the living to sever their own emotional ties.

Even if cancer is eradicated, vehicles are completely banned, and all criminals are killed, those killed by them cannot be brought back to life.

This is a truth that everyone can understand: the dead cannot speak, nor do they have any future.

Those who talk about doing it for the deceased are ultimately just indulging in self-gratification.

Although Fujii Ren didn't think it was a bad thing to use fancy words to embellish this fact...

P.S.: My back molars hurt so much! My tooth aches and my gums hurt too, it hurts so much!!!

Chapter Eighteen: Kasumi's Worries, Fujii Ren's Boyfriend

Sakurai Hotaru's sudden mention of this topic makes it hard not to overthink things. At least, some people in countless dimensions who share the same goal as her have all started to scrutinize Sakurai Hotaru through the video.

"Asking this kind of question...is there someone who wants to be resurrected?"