Don't use Type-Moon references in Oregairu!

Hideaki Taiga and the puppet lay on the ground, not getting up for a long time.

"Playing dead?" Fujimaru Ritsuka sneered as she pulled out the Twilight Muramasa, drew the sharp blade, and gestured with a chilling air. "You're definitely going to die, but what if I first chopped you up to your head, except for your spirit core, into minced meat, and then carved a flower on the surface of your brain?"

"You can't do this! Being a ghost is life too! Ghosts and monsters live matter!" The puppet/Hideaki Taiga, clutching its wounds, struggled to its feet, pleading for its life, "Please spare me, I've restored all those people, just pretend you didn't see me, okay?"

Swish.

A crimson blade flashed, and the puppet felt a chill on its right side. Its right arm spun and flew up, and only then did it feel the excruciating pain. It howled and clutched its severed arm. At the same time, Hideaki Taiga clutched his intact right hand, and the two voices rang out in unison: "Awooo! My King's Power!"

Has this guy had Hideaki Taiga's memories implanted in his mind?

72. Although I tortured and exploited, I know I am a good boy.

"That famous line...you must be that old thief himself, right?" Kasumigaoka Utaha was so excited she wanted to jump up and down, wishing she could beat him up with her folding fan.

The puppet didn't answer Kasumigaoka Utaha's question; it just stared intently at the group of people in front of it with eyes full of resentment. If an ordinary person were stared at like that, they would probably be as motionless as a frog being stared at by a snake.

But there isn't a single ordinary person here.

"Still looking?"

Its left hand was stomped hard on the ground by Fujimaru Ritsuka, and the purplish-red blade was already resting on its fingers.

"No, I am the freak desu." The puppet immediately became obedient and harmless, just like a dog.

So be it, the puppet has come to terms with it—since we're all going to die anyway, let's not struggle. A quick and painless demise is like being cut a thousand times.

As for being physically trampled on, even though you should be in a virtual state? Hey, the other side can perform amputation surgery with a knife, why bother with these things?

The thought of the pain of having its right arm cut open sent a shiver down its spine. It hadn't really cared much about Fujimaru Ritsuka's earlier threats; after all, it was a puppet monster with no sense of pain and didn't care about being slowly sliced ​​to pieces. And if it were to operate on the possessed Taiga Hideaki, it would be even less concerned.

But the cut felt like a severing of its own soul; an unprecedented pain gripped its core. The puppet was terrified; it only craved a quick death.

Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded in satisfaction: Very good, very well-behaved. You should have done this earlier~ Why did you have to make me, an innocent boy, act like a bully?

Yui Yuigahama had already covered Abigail's eyes with her hands, not wanting the child to see such a brutal side—although the latter was trying hard to pry Yui's fingers off, she didn't want to hurt Yui after all, so she didn't dare to use too much force, and instead pouted angrily.

Fujimaru Ritsuka glanced at Taiga Hideaki's body, which was in an unknown state, just like the puppet in the picture, lying awkwardly on the ground, as if its movements were synchronized with the strange behavior.

He had a hunch, and asked with certainty, "You...ate this old man?"

"It's said that it was eaten, but it doesn't seem like it was eaten at all..."

"Speak like a human being, or lose a few fingers, the choice is yours."

"The fusion isn't about eating, sir! I chose to have this guy take the lead, to develop together and progress together, because I saw that he had such immense hatred and so much negative faith-like energy. To avoid wasting resources, I did so." The puppet barely managed to lift its head from the ground, trying its best to argue.

Kasumigaoka Utaha scoffed disdainfully, "Fusion? You dare to call yourself that? I'm asking you, what was the meaning behind your latest theatrical film? What symbolic techniques did you use? What story did it tell? What was the meaning behind the art style of the final scene? Tell me!"

Not only the puppet, but everyone else couldn't help but gasp – so the haters were fans after all.

"Can't answer, huh? Cut it off then. I won't be happy with less than a thousand cuts."

"Wait! I have something to say!" The puppet, who had been meticulously consuming memories and stored most of them in its body as a disguise, thought for a long time before finally managing to retrieve its trump card from within the body. "That guy, he's even planning to write a side story for the novel!" (*)

Kasumigaoka Utaha was silent for a moment, then conjured a bat-shaped fan in her hand. She weighed it in her hand, feeling its weight was a bit unsuitable. So, with a smile, she took out a large parasol, her face beaming.

Then she gave the puppet a severe beating, making it roll around on the boat, howling in pain.

"You're going to release a side story, huh? You're going to write a novel, huh? You're going to dig holes and not fill them, huh? Are you going to write about my blue-haired clone bursting out of a robot's belly?" Kasumigaoka Utaha got angrier and angrier, and with a forceful slap, she knocked it to the side of the boat.

Hmm? Isn't this trajectory a bit too far?

Kasumigaoka Utaha sensed something was wrong. The puppet suddenly flipped over and burst into wild laughter: "Hahaha, this is my escape route!"

Outside the boat, on the water's surface, the crimson flames burned slowly, but when they reached the soles of the puppet's feet, it howled and tumbled back onto the boat.

"Oh, why aren't you running anymore?" Fujimaru Ritsuka asked quietly, examining the cloud pattern on the blade.

The puppet stopped talking, lay back like a salted fish drying on the beach, and said blankly, "Please continue, sir. I will answer until you are satisfied."

Fujimaru Ritsuka was quite satisfied—as expected of me, even the supernatural was completely driven to the brink of collapse. Interrogation, besides physical torture, also requires psychological manipulation; it's about doing both, and doing both well.

"So, is there any hope for Hideaki Taiga?"

"No. I devoured his soul before. What you saw before was just a virtual soul that I recreated using his memories and resentment. In essence, it's no different from what you humans call AI, except that it plays more of the version of itself as seen by others."

"How did you manage to evade my detection, and it seems you also evaded the detection methods of other extraordinary individuals?"

"As a great figure among humans, he possesses immense willpower. Even when tainted by resentment, it is of a higher quality and more complex than ordinary magic, much like the shadow of the human subconscious, naturally obscuring you who are still human."

"You seem to have a very strong interest in us, what's that about?"

The puppet sighed and gave a bitter smile: "Ah, it's just that I want to evolve to a higher level. As an urban legend, my abilities are limited to a single scene. After eating you, perhaps I won't be restricted to a region, or I might become another, more powerful urban legend, or I might be able to travel to other Disney parks."

"Uh, isn't it an upgrade? What about god-level, demon-level, tiger-level? Or something like a calamity or the end of the world?" Kasumigaoka Utaha was taking notes rapidly, seemingly gathering material.

The puppet rolled its eyes: "Who understands this stuff? You're talking about how you superhumans are ranked. It's all about who has the biggest fist and who has the strongest ability."

No, no, no, we still have abcde, but only for Awakened Ones.

Fujimaru Ritsuka scratched her head, feeling that she couldn't quite put her finger on it. After all, in Type-Moon, even Kinoko Nasu had declared that the character panel was just a bunch of nonsense, and that it was influenced by many different factors when combined with the character's abilities.

He glanced furtively at Abi, who had already spread Yui's fingers and was peering intently through them—this little loli, for example, although he always said that most of his strength was spent on creating characters, Fujimaru Ritsuka still felt that he only had a slight chance of winning against her.

"One last question—how many people have you killed?"

Do you remember how many slices of bread you've eaten?

The puppet stood up, dusted himself off, and made a final gesture of dignity: "Although I wanted to say that, it seems I don't have enough charm to say such a ridiculous thing. Let a clown end quietly, in his clown way. Sigh, I thought this old man was a lucky charm, but it turns out he's a jinx."

and many more...

The puppet suddenly realized something—this uncle just happened to encounter a monster, just happened to be discovered by the monster to be a great tonic, and just happened to encounter an enemy that he could not defeat at all.

Because I ate you, I'm also going to suffer bad luck?

The puppet felt completely numb upon thinking about this.

Fujimaru Ritsuka, unaware of its inner thoughts, was about to draw her sword and grind it to ashes when she heard Kasumigaoka Utaha shout, "Wait!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha put away her notebook and asked seriously, "After you die, that old thief's body will also completely lose its ability to move, right?"

The puppet's eyes widened, and its empty chest seemed to throb with a heartbeat—God, could it be that my luck is about to change? Even haters are fans, and there's always a chance that the old scoundrel might still be alive!

It suppressed its excitement and nodded vigorously.

Fujimaru Ritsuka pursed her lips, preparing to see what Kasumigaoka Utaha was up to.

Kasumigaoka Utaha took out a crystal ball, nodded in satisfaction, and handed it to it: "Import that old thief's memories into it before you die."

?

You can even extract oil from bones!

73. First pretend to clean up the mess, then betray them.

After hanging up the phone, Fujimaru Ritsuka silently looked at the remaining ashes on the ground and offered her blessing to the puppet: May there be no capitalists in this strange paradise.

Kasumigaoka Utaha held the crystal ball with a mood swing, sometimes gritting her teeth, sometimes smiling knowingly, feeling that she was doomed.

Shaking her head, Fujimaru Ritsuka brushed aside the ashes on the ground and, unsurprisingly, saw something.

It was a complex gear train, moving slowly and continuously without stopping.

That is the [Perpetual Gear]—originally created by an ordinary craftsman who, in his quest to explore the mysteries of perpetual motion, ventured into the occult in an attempt to materialize the eternity of his dreams. Unfortunately, neither the finished product nor the effects it could achieve were truly effective. It could make inanimate structures move like living people, even gaining sentience, but it could not reproduce the creator's desire to create life and resurrect the dead.

Fujimaru Ritsuka picked it up from the ground; it was only the size of a palm, yet it still caused a silent and secret death.

He glanced at the people still hanging upside down on the tentacles; the threads binding them had broken, and their puppet-like appearance had returned to that of ordinary people. With a sigh, Fujimaru Ritsuka gestured to Abigail and Kasumigaoka Utaha to lower them down.

After checking, most people had only expended a lot of energy and at most suffered bruises from struggling. Their safety was not affected, and they only needed to rest at home for a day or two.

Fujimaru Ritsuka said, "Let's go. I just had Haruno-nee contact the person in charge at Tokyo Disneyland. Let them handle the mess this time."

Shiyu, snapping out of her reverie from the crystal ball memories, glanced at the unconscious Hideaki Taiga's wife and daughter, and said with a troubled expression, "What about them?"

Hideaki Taiga's wife, Yoko, is a well-known manga artist. Kasumigaoka Utaha quite likes Yoko's works, including her series about working women, and feels pity for this wife who has silently lost her husband.

"They'll probably handle it under the name of '[Hideaki Taiga's sudden heart attack]' and let the insurance company handle it." Fujimaru Ritsuka sighed – she had only wanted to earn some money by offering exorcisms, but she hadn't expected to run into the living dead.

"I see..." Kasumigaoka Utaha quickly composed herself and followed the others toward the exit. Before leaving, she glanced back – the mother and daughter were fast asleep, the girl seemingly still thinking about the day's events, a smile playing on her lips.

Shiwa stood silently for a moment. She knew Hideaki Taiga was a workaholic, usually spending all his time on set or creating, and rarely having time to spend with his family. The little girl should have been happy to be at the amusement park today with her father, whom she hadn't been on a trip with in a long time...

As I walked out of the exit, several staff members and police officers who had rushed over were already standing guard outside, setting up a cordon to keep onlookers at a distance.

The well-dressed middle-aged man was wiping away cold sweat with a handkerchief when he saw them come out, and his eyes lit up.

He strode over, looking very anxious.

This must be the person in charge of the amusement park, right? Or is he trying to turn the tables on us?

Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others stopped in their tracks, wanting to see what this derelict person in charge was up to.

He rushed over and bowed deeply: "I am Yamahei Ichiji. I am truly sorry to have troubled you all with the affairs of our amusement park. If you don't mind, please come to the private room I have reserved for us."

Wow, you chickened out so quickly. And "[for us]"? Good grief, are you trying to turn this into a mission?

Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't want to say much to this guy, so she maintained a polite facade: "You're too kind, Mr. Yamahira. Something happened inside just now, and we're all tired. We also have companions waiting for us."

Shanping maintained his bowing posture and took out a card from his pocket, handing it over.

"This is?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka took the card and watched Yamahira Ichiji's performance with amusement.

"It's just a small token of my appreciation, nothing more than a VIP card for colleagues at Disneyland. It may bring you some insignificant convenience today and in your future travels." Yamahira Ichiji straightened up and said very politely, "I also have a payment to hand over to Yukinoshita Haruno-sama later. Please understand that I transferred the money without prior consultation."

Fujimaru Ritsuka held the card, examining it closely. It was a pure black card with only the Disneyland logo and abbreviation, as well as a magnetic strip for reading, and nothing else.

"How are the tourists inside?"

"We'll use our dedicated line to transfer them to a specialized hospital, ask the Onmyoji masters to come and cleanse them of the impurities, and then cover their medical expenses and provide compensation." Sanji Ippei understood Fujimaru Ritsuka's meaning and quickly changed his plans.

Nodding in satisfaction, Fujimaru Ritsuka led the group away, leaving behind the words, "I'll have Haruno give you a mission report."

"Yes!" Sanji Ippei replied happily, waving his hand to let the staff and police officers outside go in to clean up the mess.

He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, feeling a sense of relief: he was worried about the other party's dissatisfaction, but now that they were accepting his request to go in and resolve the matter, things were much easier. He'd better tighten his belt for a while.

Meanwhile, Yukino Yukinoshita had a strong opinion: "Isn't this covering up for that scumbag?"