Japanese Terrorist: What? I'll fight Hellstar!

Without thinking much, Amamiya Rin raised his hand to wipe away the sweet cream that had slid down Kawakami Tomie's fingertips from the back of her hand. The slightly cool touch made him pause for a moment, while Tomie took the opportunity to tighten her arm around his even more affectionately, acting all cute and clingy.

On the other side, Tomie Azawa immediately objected and brought over her small hands, which were also stained with matcha, glaring at Rin Amamiya and demanding that she help wipe them as well. The two girls, who looked similar but had completely different temperaments, made a fuss and argued, which diluted the strange and oppressive atmosphere on the stage.

Amamiya Rin obediently wiped away the cream stains, her fingertips tracing the silky yet cold touch of her skin, which made her look thoughtful.

Just then, the tent lights suddenly dimmed, and a beam of cold white light shot straight up to the top of the tent.

Babylus adjusted the brim of his top hat, strode to the center of the stage, and the spotlight followed his figure.

He raised his arm, his voice booming and arrogant, echoing throughout the tent: "Distinguished guests, our final performance is about to begin! Next, please welcome our ultimate romantic and thrilling show—the aerial acrobatics! Performers: the beautiful Leilia, and our circus's leading man, Mario!"

The entire audience looked up in awe.

A platform, several meters high, stood at both ends of the stage, with nothing in the middle except for two horizontal bars hanging down beside the platform.

The cold, white light shone on the steel frame, casting crisscrossing shadows like a spiderweb suspended in mid-air. Just looking up at it was enough to send chills down one's spine.

Leilia, dressed in a simple white dress, walked out slowly. Her appearance was exquisite and beautiful, but her eyes were filled with an inescapable melancholy and sorrow, and her eyes were slightly red, as if she had just been crying.

She climbed the steps one by one, her steps steady yet stiff, like a puppet being led by strings, slowly ascending the towering performance stage.

Following closely behind was Mario, who was tall and handsome with exquisite and dazzling features and a confident smile on his lips.

He waved to the audience, eliciting screams and applause from the female spectators. Then, he straightened his clothes, climbed onto the other side of the platform, and gazed tenderly at Leilia across from him.

Then, he reached out and grabbed the horizontal bar hanging in mid-air, took a deep breath, and was about to jump off the platform.

"No!"

However, just as he was about to begin his performance, Leilia suddenly knelt on the high platform opposite him and screamed in a desperate, piercing voice that pierced the entire tent.

"Um?"

Babylus frowned unhappily.

Amamiya Rin squinted and sat up straight.

Mario was also taken aback and stopped what he was doing.

"Don't go up! Mario, you've been fooled by the headmaster! He's not human! He's a demon! He's Death!"

Leilia clung tightly to the edge of the platform, tears streaming down her pale face, and screamed at the top of her lungs with all her might.

"He uses me to kill people and takes pleasure in it, Mario! If you climb up there, you'll definitely fall and die! Please! Go down now! I love you, Mario!"

"demon?"

Amamiya Rin sat up straight and looked directly at Babirus.

However, in Amamiya Rin's eyes, there was nothing unusual about Babirus, who was accused of being a demon.

Even so, Amamiya Rin had already clearly understood the current situation.

A demon... He couldn't recall if there was such a story in the Junji Itoh series. After all, several hundred years had passed. If it were a popular manga, that would be fine, but the situation before him clearly didn't belong to the popular category.

However, he always felt that this circus was very strange, and he couldn't see anything unusual about it. On the contrary, it seemed even more suspicious.

"Are you about to meddle again?"

Kawakami Tomie leaned on Amamiya Rin's shoulder, coldly observing everything, and let out a soft snort.

"If even you can't see through his true nature, why are you making trouble for yourself?"

She paused, then turned her gaze to Babirus.

"That kindergarten principal might be on the same level as the 'apology demon.' Mind your own business, or you'll get yourself killed!"

Even Tomie Kawakami harbors some fear of demons.

After all, she had already witnessed the Apologetic Demon's abilities. That ability to alter the structure of matter was precisely what countered her immortality. It couldn't kill her, and it would be difficult for her to accept being transformed into something else.

If this Babirus is also a demon of that level, she wouldn't want to provoke such a guy.

"Will I die?"

Amamiya Rin does not deny this possibility.

In his memory, none of the demons in Junji Itō's series were weak. The demons in the Melting series could destroy all of humanity in one go, and the demons in Demon Sound Village could also wipe out all of humanity in a short time. There was also a Dust Demon King, who, although he did not show any fighting power, had his body covering an entire city.

Compared to those demons that are equivalent to higher-dimensional beings, the water dragons transformed from the heads of the mere Yamata no Orochi are simply insignificant.

Just like the nine-tailed fox demon that was utterly destroyed by Inudou Ranko, these monsters and demons of the new era are far more outrageous than those of the old era.

"One wrong move and I might die."

Amamiya Rin said frankly, turning her gaze back to the high platform, her eyes clear and resolute.

"But I have cultivated myself for hundreds of years, refining my mind and strength. If even I cannot achieve unity of knowledge and action, how can light be born?"

If even now, he still can't see through life and death, then all that cultivation that Amamiya Rin has done has gone to waste.

"Isn't living good enough? Why do you have to court death?"

Tomie Kawakami clicked her tongue in displeasure.

"Looking for death? Don't be so harsh, you might not even die."

Amamiya Rin smiled gently.

"Even if I die, it's not a big deal. That person's soul can transform into a beautiful white-haired boy, so why can't I transform into light and continue to exist..."

As he spoke, Amamiya Rin suddenly paused.

"Maybe... for me, for this world, it would be better if I just died."

He lowered his head and muttered to himself thoughtfully.

"Don't say such stupid things!"

Azawa Tomie elbowed Amamiya Rin in the waist, her pretty face filled with anger.

What's the point of you if you're dead? We want you alive and well.

Amamiya Rin simply smiled and did not refute. His heart was calm and undisturbed, so much so that Tomie and the others could not sense his emotions.

(Hey! Didn't you guys hear what this guy was thinking? Or does he not care if this guy dies?)

Tomie Kawakami's anger reverberated in [Tomie Network]. Even though Rin Amamiya said nothing, based on their understanding of Rin Amamiya, they were very certain that Rin Amamiya was willing to sacrifice herself as a human being for a greater goal.

(Tsk! He's really become a fool from studying Buddhism. If I had known, I shouldn't have pushed him so hard in the first place.)

"It's not Buddha... or rather, it's not just Buddha, it should be said that it's light, and Buddha is just a part of the light."

Sensing Tomie and the others' complaints, Amamiya Rin said with a smile.

In his heart, no, more than that, it should be said that in this world, death is not the end, but another beginning. Amamiya Rin does not think that death is an unacceptable thing.

Of course, Tomie and her ilk don't think so.

(What Buddha or light! I don't care! I just want you to live a good life!)

(What am I doing in the future? I need to hurry back in time and change history!)

(You bastard! Do you think your life belongs to you?)

(You're mine! You're not allowed to die until you're completely mine!)

(I'll be there right away! With this sword, you can't even die if you want to!)

(Ultimately, Buddhism doesn't encourage suicide either, does it?)

"But I didn't commit suicide, did I? If I couldn't defeat the enemy and died a miserable death, then there's nothing I can do."

Amamiya Rin shrugged, chatting with Tomie and the others as if it were a joke, while his eyes remained fixed on the two people on the stage.

(Ah Lin, if you die—)

Suddenly, Tomie Moro's voice rang out in [Tomie Network], as gentle as a sigh, or as some unknown melody.

She paused for a moment, as if she were seriously considering the question.

(I don't even know what I'm capable of doing.)

Her tone was light and airy, carrying a hint of melancholy, distress, and confusion, as if she were talking about a problem that had troubled her for a long time, or perhaps she was being coquettish.

Like a child who can't find the answer, seeking help from the person closest to them.

It's like a young girl deeply in love with her terminally ill lover, bewildered as she witnesses him slowly approaching death at his bedside.

Unlike other Tomie characters, Moro Tomie offered no threats, no warnings, and not even any intense emotions. Yet it was precisely this calmness that made her words carry a terrifying weight.

A person who doesn't know what they're capable of doing is capable of doing anything.

In [Fujiang Network], all the noise fell silent for a moment.

"..."

Amamiya Rin also fell silent.

Or rather, he chickened out.

Moro Tomie is undoubtedly the most unique of all Tomies. She doesn't have the strength of the Body Modified Tomie, nor the terrifying destructive power of the Sword Master Tomie. However, she has one major difference from the other Tomies.

That is her state of mind. Her mental cultivation is equal to that of Amamiya Rin, but it is also completely opposite. She can also acquire the powers that other Tomie possesses with enough time, but her mental cultivation is something that other Tomie cannot achieve.

What will Tomie Moro, who is obsessed with herself, do after her own death?

Amamiya Rin didn't expect it either, but he knew it wouldn't be any milder than a world-destroying anomaly.

"Well... I was just kidding. After all, only the living have a future."

Looking up at the performance on the stage, Amamiya Rin said without changing his expression.

(Is that so? That's great.)

Tomie Moro laughed, a soft laugh that revealed genuine joy, giving off an innocent and carefree feeling that spread throughout [Tomie Network], like an innocent little girl, pure and sincere.

(This guy...)

Tomie and the others were instinctively speechless, their faces showing indescribable expressions.

Although she was reluctant to admit it, everyone was Tomie, but this guy was the only one who didn't fit in with them.