Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

Ignoring the Rat King's taunts—which had been mocking Yuri since it opened its mouth—Yuri had sensed something was off from the beginning (after all, nothing about it was normal), but now he felt a certain disharmony in the conversation.

“I don’t know what the limits of psionic power are, but as far as I know, magic has considerable power.” Yuri still hasn’t forgotten that save spell. “If you’re talking about Awakened Magic, I can’t say I agree or disagree with that view, but I find it hard to imagine psionic power surpassing magic.”

"Magic is just a crutch of psionic energy. You've been brainwashed by magic, so you can't accept that, which is a very sad thing for you—but it's not the same for me."

"But wouldn't it hurt more to fight while wielding a cane?" After all, a cane is a stick-like object that is easy to swing, and it should be okay to use it to hit people. It's not that Yuri actually fought with a cane.

“That’s true. If magic is used to assist psionic energy, it can be effective—but without hands, the cane can’t hit anyone on its own.” The voice paused. “You said waving the cane, which precisely illustrates the weak nature of the Awakened—they try to use magic as a cane to support themselves, but in reality, they can’t control it at all.”

"Because they don't understand psionics?" Yuri continued.

"That's largely correct, because they are so weak that they are not worthy of understanding psionic energy."

...You, as a high-level spirit, mock the weakness of mortals. What do you mean by that? Why don't you talk about those weak little spirits over there who would absolutely lose if they were to fight humans face to face?

"Mortals are capable of harnessing psychic energy. It is the awakened ones who have given up this opportunity. They call themselves awakened, but in reality, they have lost their essence and gone astray." The voice continued its grand pronouncements.

Regardless of how mortals manage to master psychic energy, unless a mortal immediately becomes equivalent to a higher-level spiritual being after mastering psychic energy, it's impossible for them to do something like this...

Although Yuri was very curious about how mortals could master psionic powers, the focus was on something else entirely.

"Is it telepathy?" Yuri was basically certain of it.

The previous sense of unease was very obvious, and the other party didn't try to hide it. Several times, when Yuri was just thinking about it rather than speaking up, the Rat King would preemptively confront him.

Once might be a coincidence, twice might be experience, but several times in a row... that must mean he knew what Yuri was thinking to be able to do it.

“Well, I’ll repeat myself—you’re not particularly stupid, though not particularly smart either—how do you think I’m talking to you?” He paused, then continued, “...how do you think I’m trying to talk to you?”

No, no, no, is telepathy the only way to achieve this? Yuri could find several, such as precognition, coincidences of fate, and energy beam transmission.

"what are you saying?"

"I'm saying I'm very curious about how mortals can harness psychic powers."

Yuri employed the most passive form of mental defense: he attempted to bury his thought processes and outwardly engage in seemingly insignificant activities.

Inefficient and slow, but usable by everyone.

Moreover, Yuri's experience in meditation gives him a certain advantage in this regard; he has become accustomed to burying his thoughts deep within himself.

"Just focus on doing your best...hehehehe..."

This guy seems convinced he can't escape this state, but since he's already spoken up, doesn't that mean he's in trouble? If not, he should continue to hide.

"How exactly do mortals acquire psychic powers?" Yuri repeated the question, while simultaneously trying to think about three things at the same time: a superficial conversational mindset, a detective mindset to find loopholes, and a censorship mindset to ensure he didn't say the wrong thing.

“The simplest way is to kill someone—not just by shooting them in the head, but with some kind of special ritual, preferably by genuinely believing that your act of killing is ‘special.’” The Rat King’s response was more direct than Yuri had expected. “It’s not that killing itself is anything special, but for most humans, it’s a highly feasible and highly stimulating act.”

Yuri hadn't expected such an honest response, but... murder?

"You make it sound like many murderers gain special powers—" Yuri quickly interjected, "but if they really did, wouldn't others notice?"

Yuri realized that he couldn't hear the other person's inner thoughts, which was normal, because the other person's proficiency in telepathy was obviously much higher than Yuri's. Yuri could prevent the other person from hearing his inner thoughts, and the other person could of course do the same, but... there should at least be some clues left behind, since this was a direct conversation.

"Where do you think this power comes from? Is it the life of the murdered that they took and transformed into this power? No, not entirely, not the main part. — In these actions, they realized their difference and released their bound power from the depths of their souls — a soul freed from common sense can display the true power of psychic energy."

The conversation with Yuri felt... no, it sounded like the Awakened Ones' magic, just with different words.

The rapid response stated, "However, this disregard for common sense undermines human self-identity, damages their personality integrity, and drives them into madness. This is something everyone knows."

Yuri's reconnaissance report: No progress. Aside from the fact that the enemy seems to be somewhere shrouded in black mist, Yuri can't find any further clues. And these clues are so obvious that even a fool could figure them out.

"Madness... Humans bound by so-called humanity are the truly insane. Can such creatures be considered alive? They act but do not change, they think but do not create, what difference is there between them and the walking dead?" The Rat King's sarcasm seemed to have shifted direction.

During the conversation, Yuri realized that this seemed different from the attitude shown by one of the pillars of fire.

It immediately came in handy: "Your subordinate doesn't seem to think so; he thinks it's best for humans to obey him in an unchanging manner."

The investigation into Yuri has yielded no results.

“My subordinate… ah, you mean that guy… he’s been giving me quite a headache, really.” The Rat King’s mood was a bit low. “According to my original plan, there shouldn’t have been any attack before everything was launched. I was preparing a surprise attack, but he darted out as soon as he had the chance. I suspect he hasn’t forgotten the sweet times with humans and is trying to remind them.”

All Yuri agreed that the Fire Spirit didn't mean it that way at all; it just wanted to cause trouble.

The Rat King wasn't finished speaking. "Although it wasn't to the point of panic, his sudden outburst did indeed significantly reduce the success rate of my plan... But what can I do? He's not my subordinate, he's a collaborator, and I have no power over him. He seems to want to restore the world to how it was many years ago, or perhaps he's already given up on himself... I haven't yet."

Yuri, who was reviewing the conversation, pointed out that this could be a critical point, and the dialogue must be conducted with extreme care.

Before Yuri could finish speaking, Yuri interrupted, "Your purpose is different from his. So what exactly is your purpose?"

The reconnaissance of Yuri has stalled.

“According to a foreign sage, humans are the most precious thing in the world…” The Rat King slowed his speech mysteriously, “Therefore, one should be able to exchange humans for everything in the world. These people consider themselves their own masters, but their lives are actually worthless, so I intend to use their lives to exchange for my own growth.”

The investigation triggered an alarm from Yuri, who felt the other party was being too direct and this was not normal.

Yuri quickly replied, "Although I don't know the original text, I don't think it means that at all."

According to Yuri's reconnaissance report, something beneath the black fog seemed to react when the topic of growth was mentioned.

"Is that so? Then my understanding must be more correct." The Rat King seemed to think that as long as others disagreed with him, it must be because he was right. "My plan suffered a little unexpected setback, and I almost thought it was going to fail... Alas, in the end, it turned out that I was too cowardly—I originally thought that after the early leak, there would be a large group of enemies waiting for me here, but I had to try it at least a little, otherwise I would not be willing to give up... Do I need to say what happened next?"

There's not much to say about what happened next. It tried, but it didn't land and get eliminated. Everyone who should have reacted missed the best opportunity.

The Rat King's name literally means lingering fear and self-deprecation, but of course, even Yuri could tell that it was still mocking the reaction of its opponents, including a large group of people including Yuri.

Just as Yuri was about to continue the conversation, Yuri the Reconnaissance reported an important matter.

According to Yuri's observations... after the Rat King spoke, the distance to the black mist did not decrease at all.

Author's message

—Author's Note—

One hundred chapters! Yay!

To be honest, if you don't mind how many people are actually reading this, please leave a comment below...

Or you could join the author's group (?), although I doubt anyone will join... The group number is 423205981

Chapter 101 Thinking is not a free action

"Oh, you don't have any other questions?" the Rat King spoke up. "This is a rare opportunity to discuss things face-to-face with those in power. Are you just going to give it up like this?"

The standstill has lasted a bit too long.

“I just find it hard to imagine that you, as an adversary, would be so candid… unless…” Yuri paused in the conversation, “unless you didn’t intend for me to leave with this information.”

"This information is not important to me. It's outdated, and even if you knew it, it wouldn't cost me anything." The Rat King sighed, as if emphasizing his age and experience. "Young people these days always miss the point."

"—The key point is that the descent stopped after we started talking, right?" Yuri said, holding up the other messages he had sent. "Actually, you only started talking because of this."

"Why do you think that?" If the Rat King wasn't putting on an act, it must have been genuinely interested.

“Another possibility is that you’ve taken pity on me and decided to let me die knowing why. I don’t think you’re that kind of person… Rat,” Yuri said in the conversation.

Inspector Yuri added that if the Rat King had a way to easily make Yuri die knowing why, it should have done so immediately. It also urged Reconnaissance Yuri not to neglect its duties and to continue monitoring for any changes.

To be honest, it's quite difficult to maintain this kind of schizophrenia intentionally, and Yuri is starting to think about giving up.

"Hmm... So why did my speaking change this downward trend? Do you have any ideas?" The Rat King adopted a persuasive tone. "Or did you just guess a direction and crash into it?"

Of course, he just guessed a direction and crashed into it.

“Because you are smart—or rather, not stupid, I assume that every action you take has its own benefit.” Yuri began to introduce subjective factors into the conversation, “You have no other reason to come out and talk to me, and the only thing that has changed before and after this conversation is this.”

"Hmm... interesting. Should I give you a reward, or should you continue to deny it... deny it?"

"Well, I find your observation skills... pathetic. But as you said, we're adversaries, so I'm not going to point out exactly where you went wrong."

There was something off about the conversation; it seemed the first sentence shouldn't have been uttered. Both sentences fit the Rat King's perspective... but he had no reason to say the first sentence.

Is this the Rat King's inner voice?

Yuri tried hard to hide this feeling.

To be honest, it's extremely difficult. It feels like "never look at the final elephant" or "look at this white cloud and never think of the word 'cloud' or 'white'." He could only do his best.

Meanwhile, if the guess is correct, then where is the problem? Why does talking to the Rat King slow down the descent—ah.

“The sense of time… the important thing is the sense of time,” Yuri found the problem. “It’s not that my falling speed has slowed down in reality, but that time has been stretched out in my subjective perception—if I can think more in a shorter period of time, but reality can’t keep up, it looks as if reality has been slowed down!”

"tsk"

"It sounds like a very powerful force. Can you control it? If you can enter a state of pause and reflection at any time, you will gain many advantages—even I would envy you." The Rat King's voice was unhurried and calm, as if Yuri had completely gone off-topic.

Without a doubt, this was also a lie.

“Of course I can’t control it, because it’s your ability—you forcibly brought me into your mind-sensing, and you forcibly made me believe that the surrounding environment has stopped.” Yuri felt the fog dissipating before his eyes. “There’s only one reason you’re speaking up, and that is that you’re trying to disrupt my habits of this environment through conversation—trying to drag me back into the previous predicament. I’m about to break free, and you’re trying to take me back!”

Yuri pushed his conclusion to the limit without even having time to consider whether there were any loopholes.

“Impressive… You’ve surprised me several times already, but this time…” The Rat King’s voice was much less sarcastic, “This time, you actually managed to infiltrate my fog and access my thoughts when I wasn’t paying attention.”

Oh no, Yuri realized he had unknowingly given up maintaining his schizophrenia, which meant the Rat King could hear his inner thoughts again—

"However, it's too late. You've already lost the moment you started to reply."

"What do you mean?"

"That means..." the Rat King dragged out his words once again, "that those who don't know can pass quickly, while those who do know will keep thinking about it—you already know, now you can't escape easily."

Damn it.

The Rat King temporarily stopped speaking, and Yuri began to try various methods... but failed.

Indeed, as the Rat King said, once he noticed, it was difficult to return to the state of not thinking too much and just waiting.

It's not absolutely impossible, but just when he felt he was in a good state, he could hear the Rat King cough.

Then the status was lost.

Yuri felt like he was facing several dead ends.

Forcibly ignoring the Rat King's words is very difficult—the Rat King's voice resounds directly in his mind through telepathy, and ignoring it is basically equivalent to not thinking about anything at all.

Giving up on the outward disguise of the Rat King is essentially tantamount to allowing the Rat King to unilaterally peer into his heart, something Yuri instinctively and completely resists.

How could Yuri possibly maintain this facade while simultaneously listening to the Rat King's speech and remaining outwardly calm, without actually thinking about anything, and still enter a state of stopping thinking and retaining his reactions? It's simply impossible.

Completely immersing oneself in thought, or rather, stopping thinking altogether, might solve this problem. But if that happens, and subjective time begins to flow in the outside world, Yuri won't be able to react in time. He'll suddenly find himself right in the middle of the rat pile, directly above the black mist, and have a close encounter with the Rat King.

Although if the Rat King could kill him in one move, he probably would have done it already, which means that direct contact with the Rat King is not necessarily fatal—but even if it is not necessarily fatal, it is most likely to be fatal.

At least this was still a solution to the current situation, Yuri noted it down, intending to use it as a last resort.

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.

"Hey, Rat King, I'm a little tired. Could you answer a few questions for me, just so I can die knowing why?" Yuri once again focused his mind, preparing to restart the conversation.

This time, there's no need to be distracted by scouting the surroundings; all you need to do is conceal your true thoughts and words.

“Although everyone who says this is thinking, ‘I’ll run out as soon as I get the information,’ fine, okay.” The response was quick, “What do you want to ask?”

Why don't you feel uncomfortable?

This was one of the points of suspicion that Yuri noticed.

If this subjective acceleration comes from the mental thinking aspect of telepathy, then it is clear that the Rat King on the other side brought Yuri into this state.

If Yuri is suffering, why isn't the Rat King suffering? Their subjective time should be equal.

Even if Yuri is just scaring himself because he doesn't understand the situation, the Rat King has to do more than him. He needs to monitor Yuri's mental state at all times. How can he bear it?

"That's a really deep question, involving its principles—I can only say that there are definitely some tricks to it, right?" The Rat King showed no intention of answering the question.

Yuri had hoped to eavesdrop on some of Yuri's thoughts, but he heard nothing. Clearly, the accidental overhearing last time was the abnormal thing.

"My second question is, why did you go to such lengths to deal with me?"

Yuri had no idea how he could be of such great value.

"That's because you're a talent, no doubt about it—among spirits of the same level, you're already one of the more intelligent ones, almost as cunning as humans." The cunning Rat King began to praise Yuri (?), "So I'm going to give you a chance. As long as you surrender and join me, I'll guarantee your safety—oh, and I can also guarantee the safety of a few of your friends, as long as they don't do anything stupid."

Is it inappropriate to try to persuade someone to surrender at this time?

Yuri waited a few seconds, lost in thought, but did not hear a response from the Rat King.