Tokyo Trickster

If fate is this boulder, if it must stop me...

[Then push it back.] A tired voice sounded in Araragi Koyomi's ears.

The dying boy refuted himself in his heart, as heavy as fate is, can it be pushed back to its rightful track?

【I don’t know.】 the voice continued.

[Climbing a mountain is difficult, and pushing a boulder is a miracle beyond common sense and the mundane. Maybe I can't achieve it, but I am experiencing it.]

"Sisyphus, this is your name." Araragi Koyomi muttered to himself.

According to legend, Sisyphus offended the gods, and in order to punish him, the gods asked him to push a huge rock to the top of the mountain. However, because the rock was too heavy, it would roll down the mountain before reaching the top, and all his previous efforts would be wasted. So he kept doing this over and over again - the gods believed that there was no more severe punishment than doing this kind of ineffective and hopeless labor. Sisyphus' life was slowly consumed in such an ineffective and hopeless labor.

[Isn't it very childish to push the boulder of fate to the top of the mountain endlessly? 】

"Haha, eternal struggle against fate... what? This is so childish."

[Young boys and girls who have experienced Chuunibyou yearn for miracles the most. 】

[Araragi Koyomi, go and become a person who creates miracles. 】

"Push fate back to its proper track..." Araragi Koyomi's whole body was burning with pale blue flames.

He stood up slowly, and everything he could see in his field of vision seemed to be slowly being dragged by some force.

The broken bodies of the dead Kitagawa Vsuke, Senjougahara Kurogi, and Hanekawa Tsubasa were reassembled.

The hounds backed toward the football field.

Ryuji Sakamoto returned to his companions.

The tragedy is restored. This is not a pause in time, but a reversal of the established things to the state they were in last time.

Sisyphus suffers forever. He pushes suffering but can never overthrow it...Suffering is not worth singing about. What is worth singing about is his determination to move forward despite knowing the outcome.

The young man painfully tore off the mask that seemed to have grown and taken root on his face. Blood was dripping all over his face. He rushed towards the boulder that belonged to him like a hysterical fighter, and then hit it with all his might. This was the cry of the small, the weak, and the mediocre.

His talent is not as good as Hanekawa Tsubasa and Amamiya Ren, and perhaps his efforts are not as good as theirs either.

But he can choose to sacrifice in the moment of life and death, and sacrifice always makes the ordinary become great.

"【Sisyphus】." His personality mask stood beside him.

"I'm here."

"How many times can I use this ability to restore the current situation?"

"As long as you can bear the experience of dying in failure, then it is infinite."

"Will they succeed in defeating those monsters someday?"

"Don't you already have the answer in your heart?"

"Yeah, that's not important at all..." Araragi Koyomi wiped the blood off his face, "It doesn't matter how many times I fail or die, whether it's mental breakdown or despair, all the roads in all directions lead to hell anyway, if there's always a hole that wants to swallow people in, I'll block it."

In the Velvet Room, a tarot card with the symbol of "Tower" slowly emerged.

This card, when positive, shows the ability to accept setbacks and to bravely overcome a protracted battle.

When upside down, it represents being carried away by success, bringing disaster upon oneself, and indulging in unreal and false imaginations.

(PS: +1 for members of the Phantom Thieves.)

(PS2: Although the second volume seems to have only about chapters, the total word count is actually more than words, and there are still five events to be written... This is the longest volume. In addition, Togo Ichi-San will join the group in this volume.)

(PS3: I have finally adjusted my schedule and will start paying off my debts tomorrow.)

17-year-old Ace: 193. Akechi Goro: What the hell is going on?! (Two in one)

This is the depth of the impression space. Blood-red lines grow like vines along the floor and walls, the light flickers, and a hunched pale figure stands in the waiting room. K's hands are intact, and there is a bunch of white lilies on the seat next to him. You can see that he is wearing a suit and tie, as if he is attending a funeral.

Cong Yuwan's blade emerged from the void outside the station, leaving behind cracks that spread like broken glass.

It drew a cross in the air and rapidly expanded until it became a tunnel large enough for an adult to pass through.

Amamiya Ren walked out holding the divine sword.

He walked into the bus shelter.

"You came."

The pale figure whispered. "Nice to meet you, Trickster."

"Judas?" Amamiya Ren took out a waxed postcard from her coat pocket and threw it to K. "You are so weak now that I can't believe it."

"I'm not Judas." The mist around K dissipated a little, revealing a skinny man's face. It can be seen that he should be considered a handsome guy, but the haggardness and vicissitudes of life on his face destroyed all the handsomeness in his facial features.

He smiled bitterly, "I don't have the power you expect."

The man was in a suit and tie. The postcard fell on his sleeve but he didn't reach out to catch it, letting it fall to the ground. On the back of the envelope was written in marker pen: "A very important transaction. Welcome to Shibuya Station B5, waiting for your reply. Judas."

"Where's Judas?"

"She ran away."

"She?" Amamiya Ren grasped the key point.

"This is part of the deal." The man scratched the back of his head. "Where should I start..."

"You're not afraid of me." Amamiya Ren stared at the man in front of her with her bright red eyes like gemstones. The man was obviously closely related to Judas.

"Haha, Tokyo right now is really full of dangers for those who are brewing conspiracies. Oh, by the way, you can call me by my name 'Maruki Takuto'."

"I've heard of you," Amamiya Ren's hand was on the hilt of Cong Yuwan's sword, "an elite in cognitive science."

"Cognitive science..." Maruki Takuto's expression changed dramatically, as if an angry beast wanted to tear open this decadent skin and get out. But he quickly regained his composure, "There are not many young people who pay attention to this field."

"I saw you on TV by chance." Amamiya Ren was always on guard. "What is your relationship with Judas?"

"This will necessitate a deal between us," Maruki Takuto bowed, "I'm sorry to have deceived you in the name of 'Judas', but I'm eager to meet you."

He straightened up and looked at the thief with burning eyes, "If one day you also have the ability to travel through time and space at will like Judas, would you be willing to change some tragedies that have already happened... but are just a piece of cake for you?"

"Of course not." Amamiya Ren answered simply, "No matter how many tragedies happen in society, they will not affect my life. I am in the 'present' and have no obligation to go back to the past and correct the future. This is adding an extra dangerous variable that may involve me."

"Uh, hahaha..." Maruki Takuto laughed at himself, "Yeah, normal people generally wouldn't be willing to accept this kind of request."

The Phantom Thief looked at Maruki Takuto, "Who do you want me to save?"

“Amazing insight.”

"It's just that your intentions are too obvious." Amamiya Lian shook her head, "Among the people you want me to save... there are people who are bound to be involved in social unrest."

Maruki Takuto's tone was a little difficult, "They are just two insignificant things... Well, I can't hide it from you."

A tram slowly came to a stop in front of the bus shelter and the door of the carriage opened.

He picked up the bouquet of white lilies on the chair and walked towards the tram, "Come on, Amamiya."

Amamiya Ren frowned, but still walked into the carriage carrying Cong Yuwan. The carriage presented a distorted scene. The impression space of Tokyo is the intricate subway network, and the tram is the most profound concept known to most people living in this city.

All the benches are covered with a layer of dark, thick moss, the ground is covered with intricate weeds, and the walls are constantly changing materials, from red bricks and gray tiles to glass, bronze, and concrete.

Some shadows of different shapes moved back and forth in the carriage, occasionally leaning against the door drowsily, and most of the time they remained in a "crowded" state, pulling the ring stiffly.

No one paid attention to where Amamiya Ren and Maruki Takuto sat down.

Takuto Maruki was wearing a well-tailored suit and seemed to have a messy smell of perfume on him. The petals of the white lilies were covered with crystal clear dew, as if he had just attended a funeral and was about to go to the next one, listening to different priests singing the same sad elegy. The evening light would pass through the stained windows of the church and fall on the shoulders and profile of the same visitor until he burst into tears.

Mozart's "Hallelujah" seemed to be playing in the carriage, a joyous piano piece. It was composed in 1773. It belongs to the fourth section of the scripture song "Joy and Exultation", which is high-pitched and holy. "Hallelujah" is a Hebrew word for praising God. Amamiya Ren did not see any devout Christians, but there was indeed a sound of prayer coming from another carriage.

"Ecclesiastes 7:2: It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for death is the end of all men." "Matthew 5:4: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."... The clear sound of the bell ended these delirious prayers. It should fall in the afterglow of the sunset, when the nuns sprinkled flowers on the silent coffin of the deceased, and the white doves of the church jumped high from the roof and landed between the cross and the bell tower.

A group of men and women are "comforting" the crying little girl in front of the grave. They are probably her relatives. The woman sleeping soundly under the tombstone is her mother.

A hired Christian undertaker stood beside the dead tree holding a manuscript and read solemnly, "Ms. Isshiki Wakaba, who is well-known in the field for her research on 'cognitive learning', has..."

She recited the classics in 1 Thessalonians. Isse Ruoye's contribution to society deserves such praise: I am now being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on, there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

The tram was speeding on the railway in the impression space and suddenly lost its balance.

The carriage melted, and white doves flew into the sky with olive branches in their beaks.

It is no longer the impression space of Tokyo. This is an endless grassland, the sun is shining, and the sky is clear and cloudless.

Amamiya Ren rolled magnificently in mid-air and landed on the ground. Amid the sonic boom, the grass and soil were blown up. He instantly crossed nearly two hundred meters and swung the sheathed Cong Yumaru at Maruki Takuto's neck.

"Calm down, Amemiya-san," Maruki Takuto said like a cloud of mist, and the sheathed samurai sword pierced his throat.

His smile was very bitter, "We should be calm."

"You talk to a vampire about this?"

Amemiya Ren pulled out Cong Yu Wan, jumped on top of his head, gripped the handle of the knife and split him in half from top to bottom.

"I admit that I did use you, but..." Before Maruki Takuto could finish his words, Amamiya Ren had already cut off half of his head.

The thief's mood suddenly softened, "You can continue talking now."

"Have you finished venting?"

"Not yet. What I do next towards you depends on your attitude." Amamiya Ren remembered those visions, and the crying orange-haired girl in them looked very familiar. She should be Sakura Futaba a year before he came to Tokyo.

Maruki Takuto placed the white lily in front of a tombstone in the grassland and said, "You should have known that I am not the real Maruki."

"......" Amamiya Ren waited for him to continue.

"For the first 25 years of his life, Maruki was a 'winner' in every sense. He was admitted to a top university, researched cutting-edge technology, his boss Isshiki Wakaba was the world's leading authority in the field, and he and his girlfriend were in love and talking about marriage and meeting their parents. It seemed that a happy and beautiful future was already a foregone conclusion," he said, "until one day, Maruki Takuto's life took a complete turn."

The voice of the man in front of him, who was gradually covered by white mist, became cold. "A group of robbers broke into his home, brutally killed his girlfriend's parents, and attacked... attacked Liu Mei on the way to escape, causing her to be injured and hospitalized due to severe mental trauma..."

He no longer narrated in the third person, but just grasped his wrist painfully, with a strong regret on his face, "I was also at Liumei's home at the time, and when those bastards broke into the room, I was scared silly... I'm a coward, a coward." His emotions became more and more agitated, "I just looked at them... No, no, no, Maruki Takuto, everything is your fault!"

"You lost your love, your career, your family, you lost..." The narrative tone changed to the second person again.

The fake being named "Maruki Takuto" in front of Amamiya Ren finally revealed his true nature.

He is nothing but a dreg of personality made up of emotions of regret.

The Phantom Thief listened to his confusing words in silence. "The birth of Judas is an established fact. It's only because of your regret in reality that this result has been brought forward, right?"

The ferocious-looking, gesticulating "Maruki Takuto" immediately became quiet. He was like a puppet being tightened by silk strings. He trembled violently several times, then looked at Amamiya Ren, "You are right."

The real Maruki Takuto has always regretted his past mistakes. It happened that Yaldabet occupied the Velvet Room, causing turmoil in the impression space. This regret successfully reached the deepest part of the impression space through the power of cognition and emotion, and became the fuse that ignited the "regret" of the crowd. They gathered together and gave birth to the existence called Judas.

In reality, he doesn't know all this.

He just attended a few funerals and went from being a winner in life who was destined to be happy to having nothing in the blink of an eye.

"Do you want to make a deal?" Takuto Maruki looked at Ren Amamiya.

"You expect me to save your life."

"Yes."

"Why not let Judas do it." Yu Gong Lian put away Cong Yu Wan.

"She can't go back to the time before she was born."

"That is to say, I want to save your boss Isshiki Wakaba, your girlfriend and her parents, and a series of related people." Amamiya Ren frowned, "How can you reward me?"

Maruki Takuto said without hesitation, "I will give you the method of traveling through time and space, as well as important information about 'Judas' and 'Yaldabet'."

"You are being irrational. Think about it carefully. Even Judas couldn't travel through time against the rules, so it's even more impossible for a future person who is experiencing it for the first time to do so."

Amamiya Lian drew out Cong Yu Wan and slashed it in mid-air, leaving a deep crack that led to the impression space.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Maruki Takuto immediately gave a reply, "Then please help me to avenge myself."

"The person who caused all these evil consequences is the mastermind behind the 'disablement' plan."

Amamiya Ren stopped and asked, "Disabled?"

"A conspiracy involving twisted desires, manipulated by the popular councillor, Masayoshi Shido, and the executor, Goro Akechi. The real mastermind behind the scenes is Yaldabaoth."

"Goro Akechi..." Amamiya Ren thought.

"You should know something about Yaldabaoth's game. In order to verify the thought experiment of "whether a trickster can bring about changes to the world", K selected two humans who are qualified to awaken the power of the unruly to participate in a game that will decide the fate of the world." Maruki Takuto bowed deeply, "Please eliminate K while he is most panicked."

"I can't do it," Amamiya Ren's Superman Experience Card has been squandered on Judas.

"There are others who can do it. You just need to gather them in Tokyo... You can get the information about them now when you return to the Velvet Room."

"...I understand your intention," the thief nodded, "You just said that the reward will remain the same, right?"

“They are my entire worth.”

"Okay, I accept your commission," Amamiya Ren turned back and asked him curiously before leaving, "In the future that you and Judas know, how is Goro Akechi doing? According to Yaldabaoth's idea, he should become my 'enemy'."