Chapter 35

“…Gwoh-aaah…!”

The kitchen knife I drove in with full force pierced Saburo Yamazaki’s Adam’s apple with pinpoint accuracy.

Saburo Yamazaki’s eyes flew wide open as a torrent of blood spewed from both his mouth and his neck.

Then, upon confirming my appearance, he moved his mouth as if trying to say something.

“Gah… kah-ha…”

Yet, because his Adam’s apple was crushed, he was unable to utter a single word.

“Leaving Hosotani-san aside, laying a hand on Saeki was a mistake… Because of that, you’re going to die.”

“…Keh… gof…!”

Tears welling up in his eyes, Saburo Yamazaki reached out his right hand toward his own throat and his left hand toward me.

However, those arms immediately slumped limply against the floor.

Saburo Yamazaki had breathed his last.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-daaa-n!

A cheerful sound effect chimed inside my head.

Following that, a mechanical voice announced a level up.

‘By killing Saburo Yamazaki, Onitsuka Yamato’s level has increased by 1.’

‘Max HP increased by 2, Max MP increased by 2, Strength increased by 1, Defense increased by 1, and Agility increased by 2.’

‘Onitsuka Yamato has learned the spell Nshikudo.’

Saburo Yamazaki, who had died with his eyes wide open in a demon-like expression, slowly faded away.

The back-splash of blood that had splattered across the sofa and my clothes, as well as the kitchen knife still jammed in his throat, vanished right along with him.

Truthfully, I had wanted to make him suffer longer, and rather than killing him while he slept, I wanted to kill him while his mind was fully lucid. But because Saburo Yamazaki was a killer and I desperately wanted to avoid having him use any spells on me, I had no choice but to choose the most foolproof method of ambushing him in his sleep.

Taking a breath, I searched for the security camera’s memory card.

It turned out that the footage from the outdoor security cameras was linked to a PC, which I managed to find and successfully erase.

Furthermore, while doing so, I discovered Saeki’s smartphone, which had been left lying carelessly on Saburo Yamazaki’s desk.

My intuition had been right after all.

I hesitated for a second staring at Saeki’s smartphone, but ultimately decided to take it with me.

Taking care to avoid any chance of running into his wife and child, I checked outside from a bay window before cautiously opening the front entrance and swiftly slipping away from the house.

Then, retracing the path I had taken to get there, I returned to my apartment.

The moment I stepped inside my room and locked the door, a sudden wave of nausea struck me.

I bolted to the toilet and retched repeatedly.

I had killed ten people up until now, but this particular murder was the only one my mind and body simply refused to accept.

The reason was crystal clear.

—On this day, for the very first time in my life, I had killed a person not out of self-defense, but driven by pure revenge.