My youth story cannot be a knight war

[…I never imagined that a weak tribe that was once incapable of even hunting could now so easily turn its killing weapons against intelligent life forms.]

[“Lin Duo has become like us.”]

"We are different from you!"

Kousaka Kyousuke suddenly roared in anger. Baruba's words caused his previously calm emotions to spiral out of control, and every word he uttered was filled with deep hatred and anger.

The finger on the trigger snapped instantly, and a second arrow flew out of the crossbow's firing port, this time hitting Baruba's cheek and shooting towards her from behind. The speed was so fast that it split the air, triggering the sickle-weasel phenomenon, opening a tiny wound on her face, from which bright red blood oozed slightly.

[“Huh—Huh—Huh—”]

Kousaka Kyosuke gasped for breath, trying his best to suppress the raging murderous intent in his heart. He stared intently at Baruba, whose face remained calm, and countless memories surged from the depths of his mind.

[The countless civilians killed by the Gurongi over the past year, the colleagues who died trying to stop their evil deeds, the painful tears and cries of the girls in the light music club after losing their friends... and the pale face of Sugita Morimichi, lying soundlessly and covered in blood in a body bag, as it was slowly zipped up in front of him.]

Every image that emerged in Kousaka Kyousuke's heart intensified his hatred, and his cold voice was filled with a fiery rage that was difficult to conceal.

"You wantonly slaughter humans for your own desires, building your happiness on people's pain and tears, stealing the smiles of countless people. You simply don't possess the slightest bit of empathy or compassion! How could you possibly be like us!?"

"But isn't this what Lindo of your era has been repeating all the time?"

[Faced with his question, Baruba spoke lightly.]

“After awakening from the seal, I not only learned the language and customs of your era, but also learned the history of your era through those things you call books… Honestly, I was surprised.”

"This generation of humans is completely different from the Lindo of my time. You're incredibly keen on killing each other. Based on shared interests, you've formed organizations you call nations. Then, for the sake of profit, you persecute other nations made up of humans. You plunder for profit, taking everything you want from the corpses and blood of your own kind. To justify your actions, you've even fabricated the phrase 'history is written by the victors,' so you can continue to persecute others with a clear conscience."

"Especially the country you belong to. Nearly a hundred years ago, during the war known as World War II, you committed unprecedented bloodshed in the history of this era for the sake of plunder. You forced humans of different genders to mate for your own pleasure, slaughtering hundreds of thousands of your own kind. And you have no respect for life at all, tying humans like you to experimental benches and using the most brutal methods to obtain whatever you desired... In this regard, even we, the Gurongi, are far inferior to you."

"Are you any different from us?"

“That’s why we lost in the first place.”

In response to Baruba's question, Kousaka Kyousuke answered without hesitation, his words lacking any hesitation.

"Precisely because this country was once so cruel and inhumane, it finally received the retribution it deserved. We lost everything because of this, and those who committed such atrocious crimes were brought to the execution grounds one by one and faced trial, paying the price for their crimes."

"In our history, evil may temporarily prevail, but in the end, it will be defeated by justice. Regardless of who they are or which country they are from, all those who commit evil will ultimately pay the price for their crimes. This is the truth and iron rule of this era, and it is what distinguishes us from you."

“This is the generation of humans you’re talking about. I know we make mistakes, but I want to believe that we will eventually recognize our mistakes and work hard to correct them. But you, you never even thought for a moment that what you did was wrong!”

“So even if you were once human, you no longer have any connection to the human race!”

"Huh? You even know this?"

Baruba didn't react at all to what Kousaka Kyousuke had said before, but only showed a kind of surprise at his last sentence.

"It seems that even in this era, there are outstanding individuals in Lindori."

"Listen, I'm not interested in discussing philosophy and history with you. How to resolve these issues is a problem that future generations of humanity will have to deal with. It has nothing to do with you, the Gurongi."

[Kousaka Kyousuke raised his crossbow, this time aiming the firing port directly at Baruba's forehead, his voice becoming even colder.]

"Tell me, what has been your purpose all along?"

Baruba ignored Kousaka Kyousuke's threatening gesture and continued speaking calmly.

"Since you know this, then shouldn't you also be clear about our purpose in doing this?"

[“…‘Ultimate Darkness’.”]

[Kousaka Kyosuke was silent for a moment, then uttered this word, the word that represents the origin of all disasters.]

"Yes, everything we do is to bring about the 'Ultimate Darkness'."

[Baruba nodded slightly, while Kousaka Kyosuke continued to ask questions.]

"What is 'Kikiru' then?"

“The essence of ‘Kikiru’ is merely a ritual, a ritual performed to bring about ‘Ultimate Darkness’.”

【"ceremony……?"】

As Kousaka Kyosuke chewed on these two words, he suddenly felt a chill creep up his cervical spine.

"If 'Kikiru' is a ritual, then the reason you've killed people so far is—"

Baruba glanced at Kousaka Kyosuke with a strange look, the corners of his thin mouth curved into a smile, a graceful arc, yet with a cold, emotionless air.

"Haven't you already guessed it? After all, your country has had similar customs in its history."

"Hundreds of years ago, in order to seek the gods' blessings and ensure a good harvest, people would always carefully select the best offerings for sacrifice... right?"

[As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere in the factory instantly became dead silent. All sounds quickly faded away, leaving this place as a completely silent, enclosed space.]

Kousaka Kyousuke remained motionless, gripping the crossbow, feeling as if his heart had been frozen by the answer Baruba had given him.

[This is indeed an obvious answer. Since it is a ritual to summon something, there must be something like a sacrifice.]

In ancient feudal states, productivity was extremely backward, and beliefs in superstition and deities were rampant. Ignorant people were superstitious about the existence of gods and believed that offering sacrifices to them could improve their lives.

The offerings for sacrifice varied greatly, including pigs, sheep, fish, chickens, fruits, and other low-end items.

[But no matter which region or civilization, the highest level of sacrifice is always only one kind—that is, human beings.]

[People offer their own kind as sacrifices to the imaginary gods. Among all sacrificial activities, it is considered the most representative of sincerity and devotion.]

[In Japan, there is a special name for these human sacrifices.]

【‘Human Pillar’. 】

Many years ago, Kousaka Kyosuke had come across this designation while reading a book. At the time, he felt an inexplicable discomfort with it, secretly complaining, "Could there really be a god who would grant a favor in exchange for human sacrifice? If such a god really existed, it would most likely be an evil deity."

[But now, he only felt an endless chill at the thought of this term, like a gust of cold wind blowing continuously, filled with the pungent smell of blood.]

[It was as if a road lined with red torii gates appeared before my eyes. People dressed in ancient priest costumes lifted a red sedan chair and headed towards the shrine at the end of the torii gates, their faces high and eager to worship their gods.]

[But what they stepped on were not steps paved with stone bricks, but human bones and blood.]

[Those were all the innocent people who died tragically in the Gurongi Massacre. Their bones and blood became the path to complete the ritual and the sacrifice to summon the "Ultimate Darkness."]

[Kousaka Kyosuke's original view was correct. The only one who would demand human sacrifice in exchange for favors is a terrifying evil god.]

[Similarly, those who seek favor from the evil god in this way are no longer human, but complete monsters.]

A fury and murderous intent far exceeding his previous intensity surged from the depths of his soul. Kousaka Kyousuke's entire body trembled violently, and a blood-red light flashed through his pair of narrow, green, compound eyes.

"Just like livestock and cattle, you treat humans as sacrifices for rituals!?"

33. The truth behind "Kikiru"

Although since the advent of videos and light screens, many people feel that their worldview is like a ball of rice cake nestled in a wooden stump, being hammered over and over again by reality with an absurd hammer, and has long been shaped to the point that even their mothers can't recognize it.

They learned that this world was completely different from what they had originally known. There really existed civilizations before the origin of human history, monsters, technology beyond today's understanding, and even people from the future and time machines.

After knowing and witnessing so many things that shattered their worldviews, they thought their well-tempered nerves would no longer be surprised by anything. However, they had to admit that in the face of the truth about "Kikiru" revealed by Baruba on the light screen, their self-proclaimed calmness and knowledge were still shattered in an instant.

This killing game called "Kikiru" is actually a sacrifice in essence, and these Gurongis kill people in order to offer sacrifices to summon the "Ultimate Darkness"...

These monsters used humans as sacrifices???

Countless people in the world are angry about this, and beneath their anger is deep fear. As long as one is a human being, it is impossible to remain indifferent to this fact.

It is true that in today's era, many countries that still retain the custom of sacrifice can no longer use their own kind as sacrificial offerings as in ancient times, but they do not mind using other creatures. However, this does not mean that they will have no reaction to being used as sacrifices on the altar by another creature.

This emotion is completely different from the one he had witnessed before when Gurongi treated humans as prey and slaughtered them wantonly. There is a deeper meaning hidden within it.

Because the human race has evolved through a long period of history to become the overlord at the top of the food chain on this planet today, and they have long been accustomed to having the power of life and death over other creatures, and are even less likely to care about how other lives will feel because of what humans do.

Although there are many incidents every year around the world where humans are attacked and killed by various animals or even eaten as food, this does not cause panic among the entire human population, because humans subconsciously know that this is just an unfortunate coincidence and an isolated case. As the rulers of the planet, it is impossible for them to allow their entire race to be defeated by other creatures below them in the food chain.

Therefore, humans have not prepared themselves for the possibility that one day they will be treated by other highly intelligent beings in the same way they used to treat livestock. The drastic psychological gap this brings is unacceptable to almost everyone, and it leads to unparalleled rage, and beneath the rage is the hidden fear.

After knowing the truth about "Kikiru", the behavior of these Gurongi has completely changed in the eyes of everyone. It is no longer as simple as the massacre of humans before, but contains the meaning of challenging the dominant position of humans.

This has nothing to do with good or evil, right or wrong. It is purely an instinctive reaction when one knows that their race's dominance over the planet is being challenged.

Some wise people, besides being angry, tend to think about other things.

Chiba Prefecture, Sobu High School, Service Club.

"The real reason those Gurongis killed people was to use humans as sacrifices..."

While everyone else was shocked by this truth, Hikigaya, in addition to feeling the same emotions, suddenly figured out a lot of things that he hadn't understood before.

For example, the way those Gurongis were promoted in the game before.

In fact, he had always had great doubts about this. Hikigaya had discovered before that these Gurongi games had no similarities except for the common hard condition of killing.

But now it seems that this is actually the biggest anomaly.

The Gurongi of the 'ZU' group are relatively easy to deal with. Apart from some details of the killing, they basically kill anyone they see. Starting from the Gurongi of the 'ME' group, they must use specific methods to kill. The 'GO' group is even more outrageous. Their killing methods even have strict regulations. Certain prerequisites must be met before they can kill according to these regulations. The changes are more than just a little bit.

At first, Hikigaya thought that this change was just due to the change in the game stage and the increase in game difficulty, but now it seems that everything is not that simple.

And there is another point that Hikigaya is very concerned about, that is some of the details they show in the game. These details are very hidden and ordinary people will never find them, but keen observation has always been one of Hikigaya's advantages.

For example, No. 21, who once put Zaimokuza Yoshiki in a difficult battle, awakened the purple elemental mode in that battle. There was a detail in the battle that impressed Hikigaya.

At that time, in order to make Kuuga its last target in the game, No. 21 tried its best to control the intensity of its fight with the police who came after hearing the news, to ensure that it did not kill them and fulfilled the conditions for passing the level.

But Hikigaya saw it clearly at that time. In the corner of the video, there was a policeman's body floating on the sea next to the fight between the two. It was an unlucky guy who accidentally fell into the sea before, and he happened to not be able to swim, so he drowned there.

In other words, No. 21 at that time should have already met the number of people required by the game, but it itself did not advance to the coveted "GO" group.

The reason for this is probably because although the policeman did die because of Game No. 21, he did not die directly at its hands, and his death did not conform to the method of death stipulated in Game No. 21, so he did not meet the conditions for advancement.

Therefore, at that time, another doubt quietly emerged in Hikigaya's mind.

How exactly is this "Kikiru"'s judgment mechanism set up? Isn't it that as long as the kill count meets the requirement, the person passes? Why is it so intelligent that it can determine that No. 21 has not completed the required game, even more clearly than it itself?

But now, considering the truth revealed by Baruba about "Kikiru" being a sacrificial ritual, Hikigaya suddenly realized that the question seemed to have been answered.

I think my initial thinking was wrong. What if it wasn't the game mechanics of "Kikiru" itself that determined whether Gurongi completed the game, or it wasn't the game itself, but something else?

Baruba, who could decide whether the other Gurongis proceeded, was a strong suspect, but Hikigaya didn't believe she possessed such power. After all, if she had the final say over who could advance to the next level, what was the point of holding a "Kikiru"? Wouldn't she be able to effortlessly evolve other Gurongis simply by injecting energy into them? Why bother with such a tedious task?

His heart moved slightly, and a bold guess gradually emerged.

What if the decision on whether each Gurongi's "Kikiru" is successful or not...is actually never in the hands of the Gurongi?

Who, or what, would that be?

“‘Ultimate Darkness’…!?”

Subconsciously, Hikigaya murmured this name, and then his expression suddenly changed when he realized what was happening.

Hikigaya lowered his head, his eyes hidden by his hair trembling violently.

Could it be that the success or failure of each Gurongi game is determined by the ultimate goal of "Kikiru", the dream of all Gurongi - "Ultimate Darkness"?

"Humans are actually sacrifices in 'Kikiru'. Those Gurongi games are essentially for... sacrifice."

"The purpose of all sacrifices is to obtain something, and what the Gurongi gain through the game is their own advancement and increased power."

The question is: where do these powers come from?

An unprecedented sense of terror exploded in his heart like firecrackers. This speculation made Hikigaya's whole body feel as if it were electrified, and his body was paralyzed in an instant.

...It's impossible that Baruba shared her power with them. If she shared her power with her companions every time she played the game, then her own power should have been completely drained out after so many games. And the Gurongi are a race that respects strength. Even if it was once powerful, it is impossible for a being that has lost its power to make so many rebellious Gurongi still maintain a fearful and respectful attitude towards it.

After all, the Gurongi only respect the real power before them, and nothing else can make them respect it. And Hikigaya doesn't think that these monsters have such a humane thing as "gratitude" like humans.

Therefore, Baruba must be very powerful. If she really has shared her power with her companions, it is impossible for her to still retain the strength that makes them fear her.

There was only one possibility left. The Gurongi that were strengthened through the game, their power came from another existence. That existence was so powerful that after giving itself power so many times, the remaining power was still strong enough to be able to strengthen the "GO" group players who were much stronger than those Gurongi who played the game before, thus making them even stronger.

And the most likely existence is none other than - "Ultimate Darkness"!

When he first learned about the existence of "Ultimate Darkness", Hikigaya had understood it literally, thinking that it should be a reference to a certain phenomenon or goal, and never associated it with any specific existence.

But now it seems that he was wrong, and quite wrong.

Because that "Ultimate Darkness" even possesses a high level of intelligence that can independently judge whether the game has been passed or not based on details. This kind of thing is generally only possessed by highly intelligent life forms with the ability to think!

This means that the "Ultimate Darkness" is——alive???

At this moment, instead of fear, what filled Hikigaya's heart was a huge sense of absurdity. What kind of life form could have such terrifying power?

Devil? Angel? Or—

His rapidly working thoughts suddenly froze, and Hikigaya's eyes froze along with them.