Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

“Isn’t it a bit late to start persuading people to surrender now? You’ve already endangered the lives of many people—” Yuri paused, thinking about how to emphasize his tone.

At this moment, the Rat King interrupted with his own statement.

"Why do you care about them? What use are they to you?" The Rat King's doubt didn't seem feigned. "I know you've made some kind of deal with the one entrenched in the human station. I guess you volunteered to be his assassin—but you're talking like you're doing this to protect humanity?"

“Of course I’m doing this to protect humanity,” Yuri refused to admit, even though the process could be explained that way. “Can’t you understand the desire to protect your own kind? Even if spirits have grown to their current state by killing and devouring each other, you should still be able to distinguish between ‘others’ and ‘your own people’.”

Otherwise, why did Yuri only see a bunch of rat spirits and not a cat?

"Of course I can understand the desire to protect one's own kind, but why do you consider humans to be of the same kind? How many of your little team members are actually human?" The Rat King seemed genuinely confused. "Are you some kind of benevolent spirit?"

No, no, no, at least Akemi is human... right? Even though Yuri always says she's not human, she should actually be human.

"They don't need to be human to protect humans. For example, werewolves—"

This time, Yuri took the initiative to stop speaking, and an overwhelming surge of emotion came from the direction of the Rat King, letting him speak first.

"Wolf-blooded creatures protecting humans? The mage who turned you into this is really ruthless—who told you werewolves would protect humans?" The Rat King continued without stopping. "Werewolves don't consider themselves human or spirits, nor do they see themselves as a third faction that is a mixture of both—they consider themselves something superior to both sides."

Perhaps we should indeed listen to the Rat King's opinion? Yuri didn't interrupt, letting the Rat King continue to send messages.

"They consider themselves some kind of balance maintainers, trying to adjust the world to their ideal state of equilibrium—a balance between the Shadow Realm and the Material Realm. But they don't build, they never will. Their only way of dealing with imbalances in the Shadow Realm and the Material Realm is to suppress what stands out in their field of vision—by any means necessary." The Rat King paused. "Do you understand the problem? Claiming to protect human spirits?"

The Rat King was quite enraged, and in this situation, it might reveal something. Yuri tried hard to find new information.

It's also possible that it might not.

"You mean, if the human side has a greater influence, then they will—"

"They will attack humans without hesitation, of course." The Rat King said in a tone of "you just found out?" "They hindered agriculture thousands of years ago, smelting hundreds of years ago, and industry a hundred or two hundred years ago. Now they are also extreme nature conservationists."

"This seems to be in your favor." At least in the favor of the natural spirit.

“Of course it’s advantageous, I won’t deny that—but what have they accomplished? Isn’t what they’re trying to intercept constantly advancing, while they’re retreating step by step under the guise of maintaining balance?” The Rat King softened his tone, his aged voice returning from sharp to deep. “It’s not that I wouldn’t oppose them if they continued to suppress humanity into a tribal system of gathering and survival. I admit I would never accept their rule under any circumstances. In this dog-eat-dog world, humanity’s encroachment on the territory of the old spirits only proves they fought well, there’s nothing more to say.”

Yuri sensed that there was a "but" to come.

"But my demands on humans are the same as my demands on myself—survival of the fittest. Since I have the opportunity, of course I will attack. As for you, I still don't see why you would protect humans, unless the mages have subjected you to extremely excessive modifications. You say werewolves protect humans, but that's not true. They protect the balance in their hearts, even though that balance is one that can change at any time. Others also have their own interests—if you take this for granted, then you are too naive and foolish to grow to your current, even somewhat respectable, level. Tell me, how exactly did you become like this?"

Yuri realized that the Rat King hadn't actually said his last words.

If he can keep the Rat King excited, perhaps he can find an opportunity...

It's difficult, but worth a try—otherwise, he'll just have to tough it out. Yuri isn't sure if he'll develop some kind of mental illness by then; he can already feel his mental state deteriorating.

Or perhaps he has developed some kind of mental illness?

Chapter 102 The Matryoshka Doll Approach

"I have grown to this level, Your Majesty the Rat King. What is it about me that makes me so special?"

Yuri slightly altered the word order, trying to make the question sound less like he had listened to the other person's inner thoughts before asking it.

Although you can't judge whether you can succeed without listening to the other person's inner thoughts, you should at least try your best.

"What makes you special is that you've even forgotten your own essence... That's truly remarkable." The Rat King's voice held a cryptic admiration. "Souls cannot forget their own essence. They can see it with just a glance at themselves at any time. Ghosts may lose their memories, but a ghost that has lost them to this extent wouldn't even have the obsession to stay in the material realm. To retain sufficient power and even have your own subjective purpose without knowing what your true essence is—you're almost like a human. Yet, of course, you're not. If this guy were human, he would definitely be a thing of the past."

The change in address signifies that the Rat King has once again revealed his inner thoughts... Unfortunately, there's no new information.

"Am I almost like a human being? Why don't I just be a human being?"

At least one train spirit was so certain that he even suspected Yuri was a variant of his old friend... The Rat King and Line Two should be at similar levels, yet their judgments were completely opposite.

"What makes you look human? Your face? If I'm not mistaken, that's something you can change yourself." The Rat King was absolutely certain. "Do you really remember what you looked like at the beginning?"

The Rat King did indeed strike at Yuri's weak point, a problem that Yuri had been avoiding thinking about for a long time.

However, he always manages to postpone the issue, just like he always has.

Let's deal with the immediate problem first, or we'll be overwhelmed by it.

“You said it yourself, spirits always understand their own nature, but I don’t. I need to figure it out, just like humans—” Yuri paused, and the Rat King didn’t speak immediately, so Yuri continued, “I have a human way of thinking, I look very much like a human, and I have goodwill towards humans. Why am I not human?”

"Go and tell this to a human, do you think they'll believe you?" The Rat King's words returned to their initial sarcastic tone.

"I believe him!" That's right, Yuri has a witness: Hojo Reie still firmly believes he's a superhuman!

"You..." The Rat King probably really didn't expect Yuri to react this way. "Then let's say you're human. Does that mean humans are supposed to be united, friendly, and helpful to each other?"

Without a doubt, no.

Before Yuri could reply, the Rat King continued, "Of course not. Humans have killed far more humans than we spirits have killed. Even if you are human, is that your reason for protecting humans who have nothing to do with you?"

"Just consider this my personal hobby, Your Majesty the Rat King. You can think of it as me doing whatever I want." Yuri couldn't really explain why he had to protect humanity... so he could only resort to the shameless tactic of "I do what I want."

“This kind of concern for face is quite similar to that of humans.” The Rat King didn’t speak, but Yuri felt that he was becoming more and more able to hear what the other was thinking.

This is a good sign... a bit suspicious, but we should strike while the iron is hot.

“There were some people around here before, they were probably wearing reflective clothing, and they were probably led by an elderly human woman—have you seen them?” Yuri adjusted the angle slightly. “I haven’t seen them since I got here. What happened to them?”

"Oh...those humans—what, you're quite concerned about them?" The Rat King didn't answer the question directly, but he implied that he had seen them...it seemed somewhat ominous. "You're more concerned about certain groups of humans, is that it? What characteristics do they have that make you so concerned?"

The Rat King asked even more questions than Yuri, but these questions were easy to handle.

Yuri replied, "You're overthinking it. I've only met them before, that's all. I'm not even friends with them. I once thought they were involved in this."

At that time, Yuri also thought they were working for the mastermind behind the scenes, the Rat King.

Now it seems not, so what is their situation?

“They are much more sensible than you, but they are worthless—they came after I opened the passage, and if any of the special mortals had their reaction speed, I would have to think twice,” the Rat King’s aged voice was devoid of emotion. “They were very excited and begged me to help them go to the Shadowlands to escape the inevitable disaster—to escape from the apocalypse.”

It didn't sound like the ending would be good, but Yuri still pressed on, "And then?"

"And then?... I already said, they lack value."

This probably does indeed mean that their ending was not good...

"And do I have that kind of value?" Yuri didn't want to ask any more questions about the cultists. The Rat King had already hinted that if he continued to ask, he wouldn't be in a good mood either.

It's not that Yuri liked those believers, but in Yuri's view, they were still a long way from being deserving of death.

“Your value isn’t that high, but it’s higher than theirs, and it’s worth me personally trying to invite you. If you insist on refusing, I won’t persist. This is an opportunity for you, but you’re letting it slip through your fingers.”

The Rat King is threatening him... That's quite normal; if the roles were reversed, Yuri would also be threatening the other.

Let's turn the topic here.

"On the other hand, although I haven't tried it yet, I do have some doubts about it." He carefully chose his words, "I think by now you won't deny that you deliberately prolonged this subjective timeframe just to torment me, right?"

“That’s true. After all, we are enemies. Isn’t it normal for you to be tormented?” The Rat King feigned doubt. “Should I let you come and go as you please?”

"So, when did you spot me? I mean, when did you notice me coming nearby?" The transition was a bit abrupt, but dragging it out for too long would be even worse. "From my perspective, you almost waited until I got quite close before you started reacting."

"Hehehehe," the Rat King's smugness surged from the mental link, manifesting as a physical laugh that slammed into Yuri's head. "It all started when you left that parking area. At that time, I only knew that someone was approaching."

That's really quite early.

"Then, when you hid in the alley, I knew you were inside—oh, the rats passing by the alley entrance didn't notice you and were lured away by you, but after a little analysis, I know that if there wasn't something in that alley, why would you suddenly appear and attract the rats? You shouldn't have been there in the first place just to be chased by the rats and escape."

—Does it still have a spiritual connection with the rat colony? Does it know what happened to the rat colony?

"At this point, I had a basic location of you, but to say I could directly observe you was a bit off—but then you rushed out, and you were still hanging on a particularly conspicuous kite." Although the Rat King didn't show it, Yuri felt it must be quite proud. "I don't know what you were thinking, but you were all alone in a very high place, how could I not see you?"

Yuri had initially thought the rats wouldn't look up at the sky, but it seems at least the Rat King does.

However, even under these circumstances, it persevered until the last five meters before suddenly exerting its strength.

...It's very likely that Yuri was actually suspended in mid-air during that final stretch, making him more prone to panic.

"If you already knew we were outside, then... were the two encirclements from behind the rat swarm also your instructions?" Yuri continued reading in chronological order, without jumping directly to the end.

“No, no, I really didn’t give any special commands this time—you just ran too fast and overtook my swarm by a circle.” The Rat King softened his voice. “I did speed up the arrival of the subsequent swarms, but I didn’t specifically command them. But given that their numbers will soon fill the entire circle, I don’t need to do so.”

Those damned rat tycoons! So what if they have a lot of rats and are powerful?

"Next, I fell down with the kite—and you only made your move when we were very close to the black mist. Why?" According to the timeline, it's time to ask this question.

“Because before that, I thought you would give up easily.” The Rat King’s answer was somewhat unexpected. “Before you actually tried to parachute in, I didn’t really believe that you were here to assassinate. I thought it was just a reconnaissance mission. I thought it would be best to drive you away. After all, if you just kept running away, it wouldn’t be easy to catch you. It would take ten or a hundred times the effort to deal with ordinary people, but the benefits wouldn’t be ten or a hundred times greater.”

The Rat King thought to himself, "That werewolf might be ten or a hundred times more likely, but unless she fights to the death, it's really unlikely she'll stay. You don't need to know that."

This sounds reasonable, both in its literal and actual form.

Yuri calmed himself down and prepared to make the most crucial move.

"Then I think there's a major flaw in your plan."

"What kind of flaw? I'd really like to know." The Rat King's interest was piqued.

“During that time, I did not make effective use of it because I was distracted—but your actions gave me a very long time to think. If I could control myself, I could have used that time to devise a way to deal with you.” Yuri tried to make a serious statement, but to no avail. “Your actions themselves left such a huge opening.”

"Looks like I won my gamble, didn't I? You completely missed the opportunity. Aren't you extremely regretful? You didn't do any useful thinking during this time, did you?" The Rat King's voice was still full of superiority. "Even if you calmed down, it wouldn't have mattered. You simply couldn't do any complex thinking during this time. After all, your basic abilities are limited. If you had completely stopped thinking, you could have escaped immediately, but unfortunately, you'll never have thought of that."

—The second half of the sentence is the longest thought that Yuri has ever perceived.

And what did it say? That simply stopping thinking would allow one to escape this state?

"Damn it, I'm going to seize the moment, you just wait!" Yuri said, and hurriedly returned to his defensive stance.

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.

At top speed, Yuri once again split his mind into parts, arranging for someone specifically responsible for being read to repeat the three words "think quickly" on the outermost part.

He didn't want to stay in this situation for even a second longer, but he stopped before heading straight for the point of no return.

The very phrase "stop thinking" generated a strong sense of resistance in him.

He didn't want to stop thinking, not at all.

If you use a different word, like "give up," he might actually accept it.

But stopping thinking... something still doesn't feel right.

He needs to convince himself to make a decision as soon as possible.

Regarding this last paragraph, there are essentially two possibilities.

First, it's true; second, it's false.

Situations such as "not hearing the key content", "partial errors", and "different understandings" can all be categorized as fake.

If these are true, continuing to hesitate will only prolong Yuri's sentence and give the Rat King more opportunities to attack.

If these are falsehoods, hastily ceasing to think could lead to an immediate failure.

What if it's the other way around?

If these are true, stopping thinking for a moment can free you from this predicament.

Given that these are all lies, continuing to hesitate will yield a reasonably good result... that is, Yuri did not fail immediately, and that is all.

In other words, stopping thinking will lead to a result, while hesitation will not; hesitation will only perpetuate the status quo.

The current situation is very bad.

Yuri's scouts reported again that the distance to the ground outside remained unchanged.

At the same time, the spiritual essence within the body is still sluggish, making it almost impossible to exert any external abilities.

Now he understood why—because the time he needed to use his abilities externally exceeded the time he needed to think, so according to this damned theory of relativity, it would take him a very long time to complete the action.

Considering that "the distance from the ground remains unchanged," this long period of time will probably last until it annoys him to death.

On the other hand, Yuri did not actively show that he had heard the other party's thoughts, and he did not show it for many sentences. Under such circumstances, it should be assumed that the other party would not realize that he had heard anything, and it is unlikely that he deliberately set up an ambush... right?

The Rat King seems to be the kind of guy who plays the "I'm one level above you" game.

The moment of choice has arrived once again.

Chapter 103 Haste Makes Waste

Yuri hates making choices, especially the possibility that he might choose the wrong answer after making a selection.

But not choosing is the same as not choosing at all; there is no possibility of postponing the choice this time.

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.

The Rat King sensed all movements within the mental network.

This guy who fell into his trap... is quite interesting.

It's really interesting.

For those who are already connected, the mental network can be maintained at a considerable distance, but to connect those who are not yet connected, it is best to be as close as possible.

Even so, he could have made an attempt much earlier, as soon as the guy in front of him took flight.