Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

So he started peeking out from the doorway repeatedly and occasionally firing at Yuri, who was a very obvious target inside the house.

Even when Yuri pulled out his pistol again to threaten him, it didn't shake him in the slightest—after all, Yuri hadn't fired a single shot so far, and he was probably convinced that Yuri couldn't fire and was just bluffing.

The distance from the bed to the door wasn't far, and at that distance, Yuri felt that his chances of guessing correctly weren't too low.

As is customary, the gunmen on the outside and Anzai would take turns firing, it's unclear whether this was to maintain psychological pressure on Yuri or to prevent accidental friendly fire...

...In any case, now that the gunmen on the outside have stopped firing, Anzai will appear at the door soon.

Another advantage is that Yuri is already taller than Anzi, and now that he is standing on the bed, he is in a superior position, making it impossible for the other ghosts to completely block him from behind.

Anzai entered Yuri's field of vision, his face expressionless. His weapon was already adjusted to the desired angle, and he pulled the trigger.

Yuri pulled the trigger.

The bullets fired at each other, crisscrossing and hitting their targets. To ensure the effectiveness of the shot, Yuri had weakened his protective barrier, and now he was paying the price. Two bullets, not weakened too much, struck his spirit, causing considerable damage.

On the other side, Anxi was shot in the right shoulder, blood splattering from his shoulder. If anything pleased Yuri more than this, it was the expression on Anxi's face... not pain, but shock.

It's like a hungry wolf chasing a rabbit suddenly getting kicked in the eye by the rabbit.

Yuri pulled the trigger again, but this time he missed. The bullets that were originally aimed at the enemy's head passed through the air and hit the ghost that was behind Anzai.

As Yuri filled his body with spiritual essence to heal his wounds, he also sorted out what had just happened.

Actually, the first time he aimed for the head, but there was a slight discrepancy between the position he was aiming at in his mind and the actual position the pistol was aiming at. The second time he adjusted the discrepancy, but the other party reacted and quickly retreated back into the corridor. The third time... Yuri himself didn't stop himself in time.

Anzai only began to let out a low cry of pain once he was out of Yuri's range, and the sound quickly stopped.

In the movies and TV shows Yuri watched, there were plenty of characters who would writhe on the ground after being shot… a stark contrast to Anzai's performance. Perhaps the actors exaggerated their acting for the sake of the show? Or is it that humans don't actually feel that much pain after being shot?

How terrifying, humans.

The ghost was retreating rapidly, and Yuri did not immediately give chase, because, based on his experience, bullets should be coming from outside the window.

—The gunman outside the building stopped firing.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Now that Yuri has a moment to catch his breath, and now that they are certain he will actually fire, the "hunters" may need to rethink their fighting style.

Yuri needs it too.

Before it all began, he had fantasized that in the midst of battle, he would fire a shot at the ground near the enemy's feet to demonstrate his threat, and then... then the hunters would retreat on their own initiative because they were afraid of being hit by bullets if they rushed in rashly.

In his original plan, he did not intend to kill a hunter directly—aside from not having made up his mind to kill for this matter, the main reason was that he was worried that such hatred would lead to continuous retaliation from the hunters.

You can't guard against thieves forever if you're a thief for a thousand days. The hunters' skills and weaponry indicate they are organized, and any organization that tries to survive needs to protect its members… especially one that is clearly a violent group. Yuri didn't think he had the ability to wipe out the attacking hunters here; he'd be lucky to repel them.

However, once he found the opportunity to fire, he completely forgot his previous plan and shot the man directly in the head. If Anzai hadn't dodged quickly, Yuri would have had to find a way to kill them all.

Fortunately, by a twist of fate, Yuri's performance ultimately stayed within the expected trajectory. The fact that the hunters didn't immediately charge again suggests that it had some deterrent effect.

As for getting them to retreat... Yuri didn't have much hope for that. It was just a bullet to the shoulder, not a blow to the head. These hunters only cried out in pain for five or six seconds, and they seemed very determined. They probably weren't so easy to scare away.

"Yuri, are you still there? Why did the gunfire stop? Yuka Yamanaka's voice trembled slightly."

"I'm here, don't come out." The spirit, which was essentially floating directly above Yuka in the mountain, responded. "The situation has changed slightly, I guess the other side may need to regroup."

In the previous battle, the gunmen outside the building used up twenty-four bullets. Anzai fired a total of seven times, three bullets each time, for a total of twenty-one bullets. If we also consider the ghosts as their combat resources, then twenty-six ghosts should have died in total... The rate at which ghosts are consumed is almost as fast as bullets. It's really inhumane.

Yuri's energy expenditure is difficult to quantify. Generally speaking, at this point in time, his condition is much worse than at the beginning of the war—but as long as the enemy doesn't stop using low-level ghosts as cannon fodder, Yuri's recovery is difficult to quantify. Because the spiritual essence he gains from absorbing ghosts is immediately consumed, he hasn't experienced much of a "rejection reaction"... On the contrary, his mental stress has accumulated considerably.

...In that sense, it seems neither side has paid any specific price—in the Sin Eater's calculations, it would be "so many ghosts that could have been saved have died." But neither the "Hunter" nor Yuri is willing to consider the Sin Eater's feelings right now, and Yuri has an additional problem: he doesn't even have the spare energy.

There were still five bullets left in the pistol, and it was functioning well. It was uncertain how many shots Yuri could hit, given his marksmanship. It was unknown whether the hunters outside would dare to take the gamble.

So far, the one who has been directly confronting Yuri is Anzai, who has had no prior contact with Yuri and for whom very little information is available.

Based on inference alone, he should have seized the power related to the spirit field. The reason for this inference is that the enemy used the spirit field, while only he did something unknown.

"Did you sense the spiritual field wavering just now?" Yuri didn't feel it, but he was focused on aiming his gun at the time and might have missed the moment the spiritual field's effects faded.

“No, why do you ask?” Yamanaka Yuka replied, “The spiritual field consumes a lot of energy, but once activated, it will not be easily shaken as long as the user continues to maintain it.”

"Oh, I just hit the opponent—by a beginner's standards, is it possible to maintain the spirit field without wavering at all when the main body needs to participate in the battle and you are suddenly injured?" Yuri briefly described the situation.

"...This shouldn't be the case. If a beginner is attacked while maintaining the spirit field, it's unlikely they can continue." Yuka Yamanaka's voice was full of confusion.

Well, and thinking about it carefully, Yuri has never sensed any special supernatural power effects from Anzai... Although he has never had the opportunity to observe carefully, if someone displays supernatural power, Yuri should be able to sense something is wrong.

It's like when he casts a spell on Hirosaki in person, Hirosaki might not know exactly what happened, but he can clearly sense what Yuri "did".

...Return.

Anzai was a beginner; he had only been absorbing the power of the Sin Eater for about a day.

Beginners should not attempt to master complex methods of using spiritual fields.

Beginners should not be able to maintain a stable spiritual field even when disturbed.

They did it.

Anzai is not that "other side".

"Mountain, oh... do you think it's better to have two Sin Eater traitors, or one exceptionally strong Sin Eater traitor?"

"None of them are good! -- What happened now? I can't see anything here!"

The voice of the sin-eater girl was filled with restlessness.

"Nothing has happened, in the mountains, just bear with it a little longer—I'm just scaring myself."

"Really?"

"Really, so stop shaking the sheets, or you'll be in trouble."

In truth, Yuri had no idea where the real trouble lay... Previously, his guess about the enemy was that "they wouldn't take the initiative to attack Yuka Yamanaka"—but what if the Sin Eater girl pushed them to the brink?

Furthermore, while the opponent's marksmanship was far superior to Yuri's, it was still not quite on par with perfect accuracy. If the story ended with Yuka Yamanaka voluntarily jumping into the battlefield and suddenly dying amidst the flying bullets, wouldn't Yuri, who had persevered until now, become a clown?

...Although trying to avoid becoming a clown seems like clown behavior in itself.

Time is passing by, second by second.

179 What you said makes a lot of sense.

Just as Yuri was starting to get a headache from simulating the dozens of scenarios he might encounter next, he heard deliberately made footsteps outside.

Although it's not entirely clear what the principle is, Yuri didn't hear any obvious sound when Anzai was jumping back and forth at the door just now—maybe it's a problem with the shoe's structure?

However, the footsteps were very clear, obviously made by deliberately stomping on the ground.

Is it meant to increase psychological pressure on the people inside? Yuri stared at the doorway.

"You're really tenacious, Yuri," Hirosaki's voice came from the doorway. "I thought you'd be driven back soon and forced to retreat."

“I do have an evacuation plan, but I haven’t told anyone,” Yuri replied casually. “It’s to jump out the window and escape if things get bad—unfortunately, there’s someone pointing a gun at us outside the window right now.”

This is true. Although this would ruin Akemi's plan to "force the other side to retreat through video recording," Akemi has not yet started the plan. It should be because the scene is too dangerous for her to get in.

“If I show myself at the door, can you refrain from shooting immediately? I think a face-to-face conversation is more appropriate.” Hirozaki’s voice continued from around the corner, “To show my sincerity, I can leave myself alone without being surrounded by ghosts.”

What kind of sincerity is this? Using methods that have already been proven ineffective to whitewash one's actions?

“Okay, if you trust me, just come out,” Yuri replied.

If he really—oh, no need for "if."

Not long after he finished speaking, Hirozaki appeared at the door, indeed alone, holding the repeating weapon in his hand.

Yuri pointed his pistol at the other man, and Hirozaki visibly flinched for a moment, but he managed to control himself and did not immediately open fire.

Hiroki's spiritual layer was so thick that it was visible to the naked eye. According to Yuri's simple estimate, there was a high probability that it could block bullets that hit his body... but if it happened to hit a vital spot like his eye, then it was hard to say.

Of course, Yuri's shooting skills meant that hitting the eye was entirely a matter of luck... but even a lucky shot was possible, and Hirosaki did take a bit of a risk.

"Interesting, you actually came out. Aren't you afraid I'll just open fire and eliminate one of the enemies?"

In reality, most of it can't be reduced, but you can't just admit that you're not good enough.

“That situation may exist, and it certainly carries risks, but from what I know, you’re a smart person. You’ll know that even if you kill me, this matter won’t be over.” Hirozaki exhaled. “Let’s talk. Nobody wanted things to get to this point.”

Yuri wanted to immediately reply, "If that's the case, remember to say it before you take action next time"... but he couldn't.

He also thought that if the problem could be solved through communication, even though there was little hope, he could at least do his best.

"Speak, but don't think I've forgotten that you only chose to talk because your offensive hasn't yielded any immediate results." Yuri finally responded to his opponents with these words.

“Indeed, I admit we underestimated you beforehand, Yuri…” Hirosaki Katsuya glanced at Yuri floating on the bed. “At first, we just thought that you had somehow mitigated the damage from the ether bullets… This is already a very rare ability among spirits, especially for a low-level spirit like you.”

"Hmm... at the beginning, and then what happened?" The other party's reasoning was correct, and Yuri had nothing to argue about.

At this point, trying to deceive the other party by claiming that you are purely a spiritual being is probably just a joke.

“So, at the time we thought that as long as we attacked you a considerable number of times, you wouldn’t be able to hold out indefinitely and would inevitably be forced to retreat… for example, like in the hospital, by jumping out of the window.” Hirozaki’s gaze shifted to the curtains that were already riddled with holes. “So we also placed someone on the other side.”

"You mean Nakamichi, right?" Using a simple process of elimination, since both Hirozaki and Anzai are here, the one outside must be Nakamichi.

“Yes, that’s him.” Hirozaki gave a convincing smile. “After all, he hasn’t mastered the abilities he should have, so it’s not wise to get too close too soon—”

"What do you mean 'should have mastered'? That's my ability!" Yuka Yamanaka finally couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up. "How can you robbers and thieves say such things!?"

Although Yuri hadn't expected her to interrupt, it wasn't a problem... The door hadn't been closed when the two were chatting inside, so their voices must have carried quite a bit. Plus, the enemy had initially come towards this room, which meant that the fact that the Sin Eater girl was in this room had already been exposed.

“If the plan goes smoothly, then it shouldn’t be your power, Yuka.” Hirosaki Katsuya didn’t even blink. “It’s more beneficial for the world to hand it over to an adult who can use and control it better.”

"What better use! You're thinking of unconditional use, aren't you!? The resurrection of the Sin Eater doesn't require reserves, it can be carried out as long as the connection with the bound spirit is not broken—even if you say you choose not to resurrect, even if we believe you will indeed choose not to resurrect, what you're promising is something you simply cannot do!" Yuka Yamanaka's indignation was palpable.

That's for sure, after all, she is the main victim in this incident, and it must feel terrible to be betrayed by someone under the banner of "justice".

"Yuri? What did she tell you?" Hirosaki Katsuya frowned.

Yuri briefly recounted the "conditions for the resurrection of sin-eaters" mentioned by Yuka Yamanaka, and finally added his own conclusion, "I think she is right, much more credible than you are."

Hirosaki Katsuya's eyes widened, and he remained silent for a moment.

Yuri just looked at him, making no move to break the silence.

“Yuri, I really don’t understand why you trust Yuka Yamanaka so much and not us?” The traitor’s voice was filled with anxiety and anger. “Can’t you see that her description is obviously more favorable to her? She could very well be lying.”

"You're the one lying!" the sin-eater girl retorted. "You portray yourself as flawless, but who wouldn't hear the lie?"

"Why?" Yuri repeated the other person's words. "Why would I believe her?"

"Yes, why?" Hirosaki stared intently into Yuri's eyes.

Yuka Yamanaka also stopped, seemingly eager to know the answer to this question.

"…………" This is indeed a complicated issue, but Yuri can give a whole bunch of reasons that are not very convincing but are clearly biased.

“First and foremost, it’s obvious that you are the enemy, and you are launching an attack.” Yuri held his gun steadily with one hand, his left index finger pointing at the hunter in front of him. “Why would I believe the enemy instead of my friends?”

"You chose to become enemies with us, didn't you?" Hirosaki Katsuya immediately retorted. "Nakamichi did attack the Sin Eaters, but he didn't attack you first—you chose the Sin Eaters as your allies and jumped into this vortex—Nakamichi didn't attack, and then you took the initiative!"

...This statement seems to actually be the truth.

“You launched an attack, and even so, Nakamichi maintained considerable restraint, firing only one shot to try and scare you off, and then you took the opportunity to attack. If he had fired continuously without hesitation, could it be that—” Hirosaki Yoshio said sternly.

"—He did indeed fire repeatedly without hesitation; it was I who stopped him, not that he didn't want to." Yuri remembered this clearly. "Don't claim you showed mercy when you did something but didn't finish."

"...What about before that? When you were checking on Yuka Yamanaka on the ground, if he had shot you from behind at that moment, wouldn't you have suffered even greater damage?" Hirosaki Katsuya abruptly changed the subject.

“He didn’t attack from behind immediately, but I think there are several possible reasons, and not entirely the ‘unwillingness to fight me’ you said,” Yuri scanned the room without blinking, confirming that there was nothing particularly unusual except for the bullet holes in the wall. “For example, he just gained power and needed to adjust, and he was worried that if he pulled out a weapon from behind, I would immediately discover that he was a traitor, or... he was actually waiting for the owner of the footsteps outside, which is you.”

"Do you really have to think so badly of people?" the traitor sighed.

Yuri simply looked back at him without saying a word.

“At least, it wasn’t Nakamichi who initiated the attack on you, right?” Hirosaki Katsuya rallied his spirits. “In other words, you were the one who struck first in this matter.”

Yuri didn't understand why he was still dwelling on this at this point—it was very likely that he wasn't really bothered by it, but was just trying to distract Yuri.

But I still have to answer: "If we're talking about physical combat, that's true, but right now I have serious doubts about it."

"What?" To Yuri's surprise, he heard this sentence from both Hirosaki Katsuya and Yamanaka Yuka's directions at the same time.

Hirozaki expressed his surprise, saying it was understandable; his role required him to do so—he had to act that way. Yamanaka, what's wrong with you? Aren't you the victim?

Without dwelling on it, Yuri continued, "When Yamanaka fell, Yamanaka and I actually grabbed Nakamichi's hand together—although by all accounts only Yamanaka fell to the ground, does that mean I wasn't a target?"

Hirozaki stared at him with wide eyes.

“I’m not entirely clear on the details of that move, but Mr. Hirozaki, his actions towards me and Yuka Yamanaka were the same.” Yuri said with wide eyes, speaking about something he himself wasn’t sure about. “Instead of assuming he only attacked Yuka Yamanaka, it’s more accurate to assume he actually attacked both of us at the same time, but his attack on me failed.”

"You... this is ridiculous! Do you really believe what you're saying?" Hirosaki Katsuya's hand was trembling, as if he were about to fire a gun. Yuri followed his movement and took aim.

"Of course I don't believe it," Yuri replied, "but there's no evidence to make me not believe it."