Judgement of Corruption

Author: Nagatsuki Rubble

1 – Judgement of Corruption

The flowing clouds drift by, hiding the moon in the sky.

The field, usually crowded with people, becomes a perfect hunting ground at night.

The man watched the clouds pass by quickly, worried about tomorrow’s weather.

Let’s get it done before the weather gets rough.

That’s what he was thinking.

On the fenced field, the man stood with a metal bat in his left hand.

The bat had numerous nails driven into it.

In the hands of a man, the playground equipment used to hit the ball back had become nothing more than a deadly weapon.

A white mask covered his eyes as he stared at his prey.

Tonight’s prey was a man in a grey suit.

His hair was grizzled, and he seemed to be composed of nothing but bone and skin.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

His voice was shaky and slightly raspy.

His hands were tied behind his back and he was forced to sit on his haunches.

He didn’t know about that. He murmured in a low voice.

He was about to be killed only because a client asked that he be killed.

The man was known in the neighborhood as the Executioner.

He had a reputation for killing anyone if he was asked to.

From revenge to simple pranks, he went around destroying anyone and everyone.

The person before him was also chosen by an email filled with resentment.

The thought that spanned many lines was the very essence of a desire for revenge.

“You know what you’re doing, don’t you?”

Some called him a killer, others a psychopath. Some called him a murderer. Honestly, he didn’t care what he was called. They can call him whatever they want.

The man destroys people at the expense of himself. That’s all.

The reason he was able to kill people absolutely was because of a skill called “Sacrifice Bunt”.

Before he knew it, it had been given that name.

He didn’t even know who first named it, but the name had stuck without him noticing.

It was called a “Sacrifice Bunt,” and it was a way to grant a man one wish in exchange for his own memory, body, or property.

It was absolutely a one-of-a-kind skill.

However, he himself had never been proud of it.

That was because the price of this skill was too high.

Therefore, the man had no memories of his childhood or anything that could be called emotions.

His right arm is a metal prosthesis, and he has only one lung in his body.

His patchwork body was like a kind of abstract painting.

Everything was so vague and imprecise that it lost its meaning to distinguish between the parts of his body.

To him, it didn’t matter.

It didn’t matter what he became.

Whether he’s called a psychopath or a murderer, he was just a destroyer of people.

It’s neither more nor less, neither below nor beyond; it’s simply not an existence that goes beyond that.

At the end of the day, everything is measured by someone else’s yardstick, measured by values.

So there was nothing concrete about him.

Nothing to speak of, nothing to be proud of.

Isn’t the man killing because he was looking for something?

Some of his clients considered his purpose.

It may look like he kills people to receive a hefty reward.

It may look like he kills people because he is a faceless avenger.

Whether they were right or not, he does not know.

However, if he were to give a reason for killing people, it would be quite simple.

He is absolutely capable of it, so he just does it. That’s all there is to it.

“……”

The man looks down at his prey in silence.

He’s the kind of person who, once he’s lost in the crowd, is easily unrecognizable.

He was a person who had no distinguishing features, the very embodiment of normalcy.

What would be the point of killing such a worthless person?

As usual, he doesn’t really understand what people are thinking.

However, he had already received a large reward.

He could not abandon the job.

He walked up to the man.

He didn’t even beg for his life, his eyes were tightly closed.

He had made up his mind. He was a man of integrity.

“Don’t feel bad, it was your luck that was bad.”

He mumbled another word.

The man swung a nail bat and painted a bright red abstract picture.

2 – Fright Mask

“That’s all there is to know about him.”

Stella closed the video recording on her computer.

Gilda Fermi, wearing a pale pink hoodie, had a grim expression on her face.

Her soft blonde short bob and gaudy makeup made her look debauchee. However, she was not wearing any accessories.

Gilda belongs to a company in the Kanto area that develops weapons.

Day and night, she devotes herself to his research and trades weapons to Exorcists.

Today she came to sell a new weapon to the Shiokemuri branch of the Hunters’ League.

During the sales process, Stella showed the video to see if she could get any clues.

This is a man who appeared last month and calls himself the Executioner.

He has been known to summon and kill people every night on the riverbed field.

The Internet was abuzz with rumors that “if you ask him, he will definitely kill for you”.

The video that Stella showed was also recorded with a pre-installed camera.

Even when the place where he seemed to have been was visited, not a single piece of evidence was left behind.

The place was so clean and tidy that it was clear that he was not the only one who had committed the crime.

“This magic is more dangerous than I imagined. ‘Sacrifice Bunt’ was it?”

“Yes. The general public does not call it magic, but a skill, apparently.

According to the information we have now, it is a skill that grants a single wish at the cost of something he possesses.”

“And, he gets paid a lot of money from his clients, doesn’t he?

I guess that’s what they call spending money like it’s water. I’m so jealous.”

Exactly. If paid for his services, he could kill as many people as he wanted.

That was the terrifying part of his magic.

There is no human being who does not hold a grudge.

Even if it is a small amount, it would add up to an incalculable amount as more people were killed.

In exchange for the reward money, he kills people. Another request is received, and the person is disposed of without fail.

It repeats itself over and over again, creating an endless loop.

Another problem was that the structure was already in place.

The Exorcists had no plan against him, so they just left him alone.

Yes, it’s not just the Hunters’ League.

The exorcists of Shiokemuri as a whole, the Hundred Exorcist Families, the Knights of the Seals, and various other organizations, were helpless against him.

They had no techniques to counter the magic he uses.

Partly because there is too little information about the Executioner, no countermeasures can be taken.

“Well, the only saving grace is that he only kills one person a day, you can call that a saving grace, right?”

“Isn’t that done on purpose to give it religious significance?”

That’s exactly right. It seems to have a ritualistic connotation.

It seems as if he was putting restrictions on himself to deify the act of murder he commits.

“What’s all the fuss about?”

Momo peeks out of the door of the conference room.

She was wearing thick-soled boots that looked difficult to walk in, and a shirt with a black and white striped pattern.

Even though she’s wearing loose clothing, she’s still a fine Hunter.

“Oh, isn’t she a cutie?”

In a complete change from the serious voice tone from earlier, her voice became one that could charm a cat.

She chased Momo, who tried to run away, and jumped on her.

Even though she was wearing thick-soled boots to make her look taller, she was still nowhere near Gilda’s height.

“So small, but so earnest.”

She forcibly takes her into the room and starts caressing her head.

It was like petting a big dog.

“I’m Gilda Fermi, an arms dealer.

Nice to meet you, little Hunter.”

“Arms dealer? Why are you here?”

Trying to get away somehow, she resisted.

However, she was outmatched in size, and it seems unlikely that she will be able to escape.

“Be grateful.

We are able to fight because of them, right?

Please treat her with courtesy and respect.”

“You don’t have to tell me that much, okay?

What, if you have such a child, please tell me sooner.”

She was allowed to do whatever she wanted to Momo with a disgusting expression on her face.

Momo seemed to have realized that it was useless to resist.

“Even so, she’s really cute~, I want to take her home.”

“No take-out”

“Oh well, that’s a shame.”

She says as she lets go of Momo.

The moment she was released, she hid behind the chair where Stella was sitting.

She’s as quick as a cat after taking a bath.

“There are only brutish guys in my company… I can’t help but feel uncomfortable.”

“Then why don’t you become their unattainable flower?”

“I’m surely the only woman there.

I’d rather be a pretty flower than a high-peak flower.”

“Then why don’t you quietly take up gardening……

She let out a pitiful voice, which was unusual for such a strong-willed girl.

“I’ll try to find out more about the Executioner over here.

I’ll come back if I find anything that might give me a clue.”

“Yes, please.”

“See you next time, little Hunter~”

Gilda waved her hand and left the room.

When she was out of sight, Momo, who had been hiding behind her, slowly stood up.

“…… I really thought I was going to die.

Are all arms dealers like that?”

“I don’t think you want to hear that.”

Stella sighed.

3 – Love Me Love Me Love Me (Valentine’s Day Only)

Suddenly, the wind blew across the field.

The fence around them just stared at them and did nothing.

The air is just a little chilly today.

It looks like it’s going to be cold tonight.

The woman in the dress in front of him must be cold.

How long has it been since she was tied behind her back and forced to sit upright?

For the man, appearance, age, race or gender are irrelevant.

They are all equally vain, and all are nothing.

The man is called the Executioner, feared as a psychopath, and despised as a murderer.

He was famous for killing anyone he didn’t like in exchange for a hefty reward.

One e-mail and the man accepted.

In the man’s hand was a bat with a large number of nails driven into it.

With this bat, known as a nail bat, he killed people.

He never missed his intended prey and always finished them off.

He was able to do this because of a skill he possessed called “Sacrifice Bunt”.

He would make one of his wishes come true at the cost of something he himself possessed.

Every time he activated it, he lost something. The man had nothing.

His body, stitched together like a patchwork, was like an abstract painting, a mishmash of everything.

Instead of having no money for the night, the man had no memory of the night.

In the morning, he would forget everything.

And again, he would wait for the client’s email.

“If you want to kill me, go ahead and do it!”

So, when the next morning comes, he would forget the woman’s words.

“You’re famous for killing people, aren’t you?

It’s disgusting, you murderer!”

The woman with short brown hair keeps shouting.

She has a striking mole around her mouth, and her eyes resemble those of a cat.

She was glaring at the man like a stray cat.

“I bet you must feel great!

All you do is kill people and get paid for it!”

She was right.

In exchange for killing people, the man receives a hefty sum.

The reward money is used for a living, but he can’t spend it all.

“I’m having a hard time too, you know!

A psychopath like you wouldn’t understand!”

“Oh, I don’t understand.”

The woman’s scream sounded awful and ugly.

It’s not pleasant, but he can’t help but listen.

However, the tears that poured from her eyes were beautiful.

It is a testament to this woman’s willingness to live as a human being.

Other people, like her, shed tears and complained about various things.

From begging for their lives, to resentment toward the sender of the email, to insults toward the man.

He doesn’t remember their words, but they were never kind words.

However, there was something different about this woman.

Was there something different that prevented him from swinging the bat?

“I know, I know, a piece of garbage like me should die!

That’s what you think!”

Why is it?

It feels like it’s easier to let them scream as much as they can.

The man did not believe in the existence of heaven or hell.

After swinging the nail bat and breaking them, there would be nothing left.

Just a lump of flesh.

However, if there is a world to go to after death, it is better not to have any unfinished business.

He’ll wait until she’s done screaming.

Unusually, he was in such a mood.

Then the woman cowered and began to cry quietly.

Is now the right time? He grips the nail bat again.

One blow to the back of the head, and it’s all over.

“I tried so hard…… to pay back the money, but it was all for nothing.”

Ah, another story has begun.

A cold wind blows between the two of them.

“If I’m going to die in a place like this, I should have given it to her earlier.”

Many regret something they have left undone.

This woman is probably one of them.

“Hey, you’re alone anyway, right? Would you take this for me?

It’s in my pocket, so…… please.”

The man’s eyes widened slightly.

Her baggage had been confiscated by the people who had gathered there.

They were the ones who restrained the woman and made her sit down. Apparently, they hadn’t done a physical examination.

“There’s no poison in it…… it’s fine, right?

You agreed to take on that much.”

The woman lifted herself up and smiled at the man.

She was a mess of tears and it wasn’t pretty to look at.

Still, he thought she was beautiful.

It was a testament to the fact that she was trying to live to the end.

Her refreshing expression was very beautiful.

“Is that all you have to say?”

Silence descends.

The man slammed a nail bat into the back of her head.

Red flowers bloomed on the ground.

As expected, a package was in the pocket of the dress.

It was a small red box wrapped in ribbon.

When he tore open the wrapping, he found small chocolates stuffed like jewels.

The woman did not answer. She lay on the ground, bleeding.

“I certainly received them.”

Picking one, he throws it into his mouth.

Well, it seems like the price tonight is “sweetness”.

The taste was horribly bitter, and it was all he could do to swallow it.

4 – Gadget Cheat!!

Stella closes the video.

He never operates outside of that field.

The fact that he is captured on a fixed camera almost every night is proof of this.

Gilda, who was next to her, nodded repeatedly with a look of conviction.

“I think this will work.

We’ll have a weapon against him by the end of the month.”

“Thank you.

Now we can put a stop to his killing spree.”

Stella bowed her head.

A month has passed since the Executioner appeared.

The Exorcists have still not been able to come up with a countermeasure.

The reason why his magic is called a “Skill” seems to be to distinguish it from the magic of the Exorcists. It seems like they just want to emphasize that they are different.

Arms dealers were not silent about this situation either.

The Exorcists were researching a new weapon to break through the helpless situation.

“Oh, I haven’t seen you since the other day. Hello.”

“I’m Momo.

I forgot to tell you my name last time, so please remember it properly.”

Momo opened the door timidly, perhaps wary of someone jumping at her.

“Momo…… then, you are the one behind the joint operation in the case, right?

I’m sorry I didn’t learn your name before.”

“Don’t jump too quickly if you don’t even know anything.”

“For such a cutie to come up with such a strategy. Hunters are truly amazing.

You’ve become famous among us as a bridge between the Hunters’ League and the Knights of the Seals, right?”

“No, it just happened, it was more like an accident.”

It all started when a member of the Knights of the Seals misunderstood and defeated the culprit Momo was chasing.

It was indeed an accident, and without it, the operation would not have been born.

Perhaps the outcome of the operation would have been different.

“Part of your ability is not letting someone get away with an accident?

I think we should be more proud of it.”

“No, in his case, I didn’t let him get away, or rather he didn’t run away……”

In fact, she thinks it would be more correct to say that she followed him.

She doesn’t think there was any idea of running away.

“I mean, isn’t this guy an Exorcist?

I just thought he was a traitor.”

Momo also looks at the Executioner on the computer screen.

Just like the evaluation of abstract paintings, opinions are divided.

It’s not something that can be explained in just a few words.

“There are a few things I can think of about him.

The first is that he is an Exorcist, as Momo says.

The second is that a third party has modified his body.

The third is that before he became an Exorcist, he awakened as a magician.”

Counting her fingers, Stella makes a guess.

“First of all, if he’s an Exorcist, that’s easy. He was active as an Exorcist, but for some reason, he started his own business as the Executioner.”

Could it be that he drowned in his power and turned to crime?

Many such traitors have been seen and captured.

She wondered what kind of people they were, but was disappointed to find that they were all mentally weak.

“But there was no record of him.

He wasn’t even an Exorcist. So there is no line on this one.”

“How could he use that kind of magic if he wasn’t even a peer?”

Gilda’s expression becomes grim.

Is it possible to use magic without having an Exorcist license?

It’s not unusual for anyone to ask this question. Even more so if you’re an Exorcist.

“Second, a third party modified him. Well, that’s a simple story.

It’s like the victim of Nakiri’s Village the other day.

Like them, he was abducted and modified by a criminal group.”

“If that’s the case, what’s their purpose?”

Nakiri and the others in Shiokemuri only targeted the weak who were isolated.

It was only recently that they were arrested in the village.

That was the joint operation with the Knights of the Seal.

With their help, they were able to solve the kidnapping case that occurred in Shiokemuri.

“I can’t say anything about that.

But in his case, I can’t find any similarities like we did back then.”

Judging from the list of victims, he kills people of all ages, men and women, regardless of race.

He seemed to be killing the people he was asked to in order.

Someone may be behind the scenes, but the chances are slim.

So, the second point also disappears.

“The third one left, the pattern of awakening as a magician before becoming an Exorcist.

This one is very troublesome……”

Stella scratched her head. Although there are differences between individuals, anyone can use magic as long as they learn how to do it.

Basic technical books are also available on the market and are easy to obtain.

It’s not difficult.

“Not everyone can get an Exorcist’s license.

There’s also an age limit.”

“Is that what you mean by before becoming an Exorcist?

I guess he awakened as a magician as a child.

But if that’s the case, I don’t think the professional organizations will keep quiet about it.”

“What if he was kidnapped by a group of criminals before the organizations got involved?”

At Stella’s words, the two of them froze.

She speaks nonchalantly without changing her facial expression.

“What if he was educated there and raised as a warrior?

It may take some time, but I think they can produce an Irregular with abilities on par with ours.”

“Are you serious?”

“In the long run, I don’t think it’s a bad thing.

As long as they give the school a name, children will naturally flock to it.”

Stella sighed.

Schools are also box gardens where contact with the outside world is difficult.

Depending on how it is run, it can become an institution that is completely isolated from the outside world.

It was in such institutions that he learned magic and learned how to fight Exorcists.

This is just a guess, but she doesn’t think it’s off the mark.

“I guess we can search that institution after we capture him.

There’s too little information and we can’t do anything about it right now.”

She shakes her head. Have other groups guessed as much?

Is it really okay to share this information?

As she pondered, Gilda spoke.

“Hey, I want you to be the first to use the latest weapon, okay?”

The two looked at her suspiciously.

“Even if it’s just a guess, it’s the first time I’ve heard of such a thing, and more importantly, I know I can trust you.

Of course, I guarantee the quality, and I will be present on the day…… what do you think?”

That’s like asking to capture that Executioner at the same time.

It’s a blessing to be able to try out the latest weapons.

“But, are you sure it’s okay to stay with us? Won’t you regret it?”

“I won’t regret it, and I won’t allow it.”

“Then I’ll try it.”

“Momo says so, too, right?”

“You don’t like to talk about it.

I don’t even know what it’s like…….”

“Then don’t worry about it.

It’s designed so that anyone can handle it.”

Gilda smiled broadly.

5 – Good Day to Die (White Day Only)

“Nice to meet you, I’ve waited for you for a long time.”

The man said at the very beginning of his speech.

Perhaps because of the continuous rainy days, the field was muddy.

The air surrounding the field is also a little heavy.

Is it because of the humidity or because of the ghosts?

Either way, it’s certainly not a very pleasant feeling.

“It’s kind of a relief to think that I’m finally going to be killed.”

Like this man, many thought that death would save them.

Is it based on some kind of religious belief?

He doesn’t really understand it, and he doesn’t think he can understand it.

One thing he can say is that he is not a god or anything like that.

He’s just a murderer, a psychopath, and a killer.

His one and only ability was the “Sacrifice Bunt”.

It was to grant one wish at the cost of something he possessed.

It is no exaggeration to say that thanks to this ability, he earned the name of the Executioner.

“Actually, I wrote the e-mail asking you to kill me.

It was well done, wasn’t it?”

He smiled with the pure innocence of a child bragging about his craftsmanship.

Even if you boast about such things, nothing will come of it.

It is not unusual for people to make their own works of art.

However, there are a certain number of people who are willing to die for it.

They say, “I don’t want to live any longer”.

That doesn’t mean they can’t commit suicide. They want someone to kill them instead.

The man didn’t really understand.

Like him, there were so many people who didn’t have the courage to die, but could only think about dying.

Their thoughts were so contradictory.

“You really don’t change a single expression, do you?”

Perhaps he is teasing the man. It looks like he’s making fun of him.

His expression changed and was smiling.

“Are you going to kill me with that cold look in your eyes?

What kind of expression do you have when you kill people?”

He never thought it was fun or painful.

All such feelings disappeared at the cost of the Sacrifice Bunt.

Only in rare cases, when something different is compensated, does some emotion emerge.

Only then can he not swallow the painful feeling that is rising inside him.

Is it what people call guilt?

“No answer. You don’t speak, do you?”

“You just talk too long.”

The sooner you shut these people up, the better.

They go on forever, wasting time.

“Finally, I hear his voice.”

He smiles happily.

Not quite sure what he wants.

“Hey, I wonder what you think about me, the man who could never be anything.”

Couldn’t be anything, huh?

Again, an expression he doesn’t understand.

To be honest, he had no intention of becoming anything. He didn’t think he could have been anything.

People around him just picked it up and gave him a name.

It’s just a label that can’t be easily removed.

“At the very least, I wish I could have been something like you.”

He let out that brief comment.

“I wonder if becoming something would have made a difference.”

How much easier would it be if such a thing changed your life?

Or is it really that important to be someone?

He doesn’t think there is anything more comfortable than being a nobody.

If you don’t have a name, people won’t come to you.

If you don’t have something that stands out, no one will take advantage of you.

“Would it bother you if I asked you something like this?”

He laughs resignedly.

“Forget it, I’ll keep my mouth shut.

Or will you talk to me next time?”

“Whoever you are, I’m just going to kill you.

It doesn’t matter what your name is.”

“That’s the Grim Reaper for you. Well, thank you very much.”

He said and closed his eyes. It looks like he’s praying to someone.

Even though there is only the Grim Reaper here.

Gripping the bat, he calmly hits the hanging head with one shot.

A nameless red flower bloomed profusely.

6 – Black Board

A lukewarm breeze blows.

The moon in the sky is repeatedly hidden by passing clouds.

It was a young woman wearing sunglasses.

She gritted her teeth without saying a word.

She remained silent throughout.

Today seems relatively easy. Stay quiet and just knock her down.

“Now!”

A loud, full-throated scream.

At that moment, the Executioner was knocked aside.

He took a passive stance and raised himself.

Just beyond his eyes was a little girl wearing a coat, a folded hat, and thick-soled boots.

Did she kick him away? Where did she come from?

His mind couldn’t keep up with unexpected events.

“Ugh…… I was really scared. I really thought I was going to be killed.”

Later, a woman in a hoodie appeared, released from her restraints.

No way, had she been hiding all this time?

Was she hiding in the darkness, waiting for the right moment?

She stood up slowly while holding her chest.

“Anyway, the operation was a success. The barrier seems to be working properly.”

The woman smiles softly.

“Who are you guys?”

“Hunters”

The girl answered briefly while holding handcuffs.

“We’re here to get you.”

“Hunters…… Exorcists!”

There have been rumors about it.

The Exorcists are devising some countermeasures to capture him.

He never expected to be attacked.

“I really can’t use magic.

It doesn’t really affect me.”

The weapon given by the arms dealer was a barrier that rendered magic unusable.

It has the ability to drain the magic power of all people within the barrier.

Apparently, it came about while creating an item to supplement magical power.

Although it was the exact opposite of its intended purpose, the concept was interesting, so it was stored in a warehouse.

No wonder the development period was shortened.

All they had to do was pull out the items that had been discarded in the middle of development and do some serious research.

“Well, we’ve sealed away the most powerful magic.

Are you ready, Executioner?”

The girl throws the handcuffs and restrains the man’s arms.

As soon as he heard the sound of a lock being locked, he threw the nail bat away.

His arms were restrained, and he decided that it was useless.

“Kill me.”

The man muttered.

“If you let me live, it won’t do you any good.”

He knelt and bowed his head.

Without doing anything, he surrendered.

“What do you mean?”

“I won’t do anything.

Nothing more can be done, right?”

What he said was incomprehensible.

“Wait a minute. I’ve seen a lot of criminals like you.

Of course, there were people who resisted us and died.”

Stella steps in front of the man and begins to speak.

He might just be pretending to lose his will to fight, and is up to something.

With caution, she watched his movements.

“I’m not sure if it’s because of the barrier, but you don’t seem to be resisting.

Doesn’t that mean you have some sense of guilt?”

He threw down his weapon and promptly showed no intention of resisting.

Did he want to be punished from the beginning?

Or did he simply realize that there was no point in resisting?

“I think if you can feel remorse for killing people, and realize the fact that you have done bad things, you can change a lot.”

“Do you think you can save someone like me?”

“Don’t be silly, we’re not God.

What you want to do with yourself is up to you.

Well, there’s plenty of time, so you’ll just have to face it from now on.”

The Hunters, who had been waiting on the field, appear and detain him.

The people who were supposedly working with him were also taken into custody.

There’s a lot to find out about him.

They must be prepared to work overtime to conduct a thorough investigation.

“That’s a nice thing to say for Stella.”

“A very serious person, that I am.”

“I wish I was usually that serious.”

“No, I can’t handle this kind of tension every time.”

“Oh, I didn’t think it was that bad.”

“That’s not the point.”

She sighs. She’s really not used to serious talk.

They didn’t seem to be making any progress, so this time she just came to the rescue.

“I’m a behind-the-scenes person, so what’s the point in being flashier than the guys who take center stage?”

“What you say and what you do are two different things.”

Please don’t say such things proudly.

First of all, look up the meaning of “behind the scenes” in a dictionary.

She couldn’t keep up with the retort, and involuntarily fell silent.

She usually wears a T-shirt with a mysterious word written on it.

In some ways, her style stands out more than Momo’s group.

The words are different every time, so it’s still a mystery how many clothes she has.

“Sunglasses fellow wearing a weird T-shirt, that’s me.”

She said with satisfaction.

7 – Swim in The Elegy

“I see what you meant.”

Eldred nodded as he listened.

The Executioner case seems to have calmed down, and things are returning to normal.

The Irregulars, who had been deprived of their work by him, are beginning to be more active.

The analysis team is busy investigating him, and it seems like they won’t be able to go home.

“I mean, I’m really glad I wasn’t there. Seriously.”

Eldred is an Exorcist who belongs to the Knights of the Seals.

The Knights of the Seals do not deal with so-called criminals.

They deal with an evil god named Naraka.

Even if he wanted to intervene in this case, he couldn’t.

It seems that there was not much reliable information available.

He listened to Momo’s story with great interest.

Many of them have a strong sense of justice, and like Eldred, they are honest, for better or worse.

If he had been there during this case, his quiet anger would have been clearly visible.

“I heard that some Exorcists were killed as well.

Frankly, I was horrified.”

“Wait a minute, who said that?”

“It’s just a rumor. I didn’t think you could have done it so easily …….”

“I guess that’s a rumor made up to show off his power.”

Stella sits across from him.

Although she was behind the scenes, apparently she played the most active role in this incident.

It seems that she herself acted as a decoy to capture him.

“It would have been better if he had just been killed.”

“Eh…… I’ve worked really hard.”

The mysterious T-shirt is also back, and today it said, ‘I’m going to hit you with more pages and vocabulary’.

How many clothes does she own?

From what Eldred could see, she seemed to have at least five of them.

“I think the MVP of this case is definitely me.”

Stella purses her lips in frustration.

She sent a fake email to the Executioner, asking him to kill her.

She also urged him to kill her as soon as possible.

Once the date of execution is set, the victim receives an email.

In the evening of the same day, they are forcibly taken away and killed.

It seems that no matter where they are, they will always be taken out to that place.

In the daytime, it’s just an empty field.

Before his arrival, a new weapon was installed and ready.

The person who is to be executed acts as a decoy, while those waiting in the wings would capture him.

The decoy role was chosen for Stella, whose face no one seems to know.

She gritted her teeth and waited on the spot.

She didn’t know if it was because she was scared of him or because she was nervous.

“There was no Exorcist on the list of victims.

I guess I was just lucky not to be chosen.”

“You mean you got the e-mail itself?”

“To a certain extent, yes. Without us even realizing it, we had earned a grudge.”

Is the sender related to the Irregulars who have been caught so far?

It would not be that easy.

“Um, does that educational institution really exist?”

What kind of organization is there that creates magicians like us?”

“This is just a guess, so please don’t take it too seriously.

I don’t think such a place exists.”

Stella shakes her head.

“At the expense of oneself, one wish is granted.

To be honest, it must be a rather difficult magic to use.

Then I thought to myself. You could create an improved version of your current magic at the expense of it, or you could create something completely different. I wondered if he hadn’t done something like that.”

Hypothetically, it is an educational institution.

The aim is to improve the students’ abilities, such as improving their magical performance.

However, it seems that no such techniques were taught.

From what they have heard from him, he didn’t seem to have anything to do with such an organization.

“Or maybe it’s the result of repeated magical modifications.

Either way, I can’t see the purpose at all.”

“At the very least, you’re saying he’s not after the reward money?”

Eldred had heard that there was a fraudulent organization that was trying to make money off of the Executioner’s unique magic.

It was obvious that it was a multi-person operation, so he assumed there was something behind him.

This was probably just a guess, but he couldn’t think of anything else.

“If anything, he doesn’t have any greed for money at all.

Even with all the reward money, it seems like he only used the minimum amount necessary.”

“What was it all for, then?”

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t have any trouble at all……

It seems that he has lost most of his memories due to the cost of the magic.

He can’t talk about it at all. I don’t know what to do, really.”

Stella sighed deeply.

The investigation seems to be going nowhere, and it’s almost as if they’ve lost their grip on the situation.

What did he want to do by erasing even his own memory?

What did he want to gain by going to such lengths?

He may have forgotten even that.

If he had followed the right path, would he have become a proper magician?

She felt something akin to sympathy for him.

Inside Story – Judgement of Corruption

April 6, 2020

I wanted to organize my recent notes, so I’m moving the afterword here.

The process leading up to its completion is a bit complicated, so I’ll explain it step by step.

⓵The Trigger

I saw an independent project on Kakuyomu and thought it looked interesting, so I wrote it.

It’s the usual feeling.

The three specified phrases were “Abstract”, “Psychopath”, and “Sacrifice Bunt”.

At first glance, these words seemed unrelated, but they grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let go.

“Abstract” and “Psychopath” conjured up images of a black-and-white, ambiguous, righteous hero, and “Sacrifice Bunt” is also called “Sacrificial Fly”, so I pictured them each as someone who sacrifices himself to do something.

From there, the character of “an empty killer who uses too much magic and has nothing to offer” was born. The phrase “I only do it because I can” comes from that image.

②About the Valentine’s Day Story

Now that I think about it, I don’t think it was very appropriate for this kind of project……

It may have been close to some kind of vandalism.

I apologize to those who felt uncomfortable.

The content of the story is, well, like a forced twist on Valentine’s Day.

I like the ending because it comes together nicely.

③About the remake in the Dusk Project

Now, there is one thing that has bothered me while writing this novel.

That’s why I couldn’t see the ending of the story.

“How should I end this story?”

It really boils down to this one thing.

“If we continue to push forward, the protagonist will be punished in some way and die.

That’s probably an interesting story, but what about it?

Is there anything else?”

After thinking about it, the best way to end the case was to be tried as a criminal.

I thought that by being judged as a “criminal” he would no longer be some unknown monster.

“I think the characters in ‘Under the Dusk’ would treat the protagonist fairly.”

The characters in the works that participated in the Dusk Project are in the position of so-called Police Officers, so I thought they would treat the main character equally as a criminal and arrest him.

However, this was after the project was completed.

I was thinking, “Is it okay to write about this after the project ends? Maybe I should check with the organizers,” but I received a comment from the organizers about their impressions over the past two months.

This is exactly the kind of situation that is referred to as a boat for migration.

When I asked if it was okay to introduce the characters of the Dusk Project, I received the go-ahead.

I feel like I have no choice but to do my best to write this.

After that, I kept my work private and wrote it behind the scenes, which continues to this day.

I’m sorry for throwing things around here and there.

There were many irregularities in this work.

Thank you for reading this far.

Thank you for your continued support.