Chapter 24: The Dark One
After Voban left, Hikigaya also departed.
He could no longer stay at the hotel, after all, it had been completely wrecked by him.
On his way out, he noticed that the hallway was surprisingly intact. The people he had drained the light of life from earlier were still collapsed there, so he spat their light back out, returning it to them.
When in a good mood, one can afford to be willful.
He wasn't sure if the school's cultural festival would be affected by this. If it was, he could only offer apologies. No matter how important something is, it couldn't be more important than his own life.
Still, the gains from this were considerable.
The power he had seized from Set had now returned to its original form after losing Horus' "distortion."
Only Horus—perhaps only a god known as the "Conqueror of Set"—could manage to distort Set's power in such a way.
But there were no problems going forward. That matter was now in the past.
He had just tested the waters a bit, and the results were impressive.
In Egyptian mythology, the relationship between Set and Osiris was far worse than the rivalry between Set and Horus.
If Set and Horus' conflict was more like a struggle over who was the boss, then the feud with Osiris was one of utter enmity—irreconcilable class enemies.
They were opposites in nearly every aspect of the natural world.
When it came to land, Osiris represented fertile, life-giving soil, while Set symbolized deserts or rocky, barren land incapable of producing anything.
When it came to water, Osiris represented the Nile River, which brought fertility and abundance to Egypt, while Set represented the useless seawater from the Egyptian point of view.
Even when it came to the sun, Osiris stood for its warm, life-giving aspect that nurtured all things, while Set naturally embodied the harsh, scorching side of it—the kind that made people scream in heat.
That level of hatred was on another level…
It was a "you live, I die" kind of hatred.
Now, this contrast was reflected in Hikigaya's own divine abilities.
From Osiris, Hikigaya had seized the power of moisture—what ancient Egyptians considered the most sacred form of tide power. It could make land fertile, rivers abundant to the point of flooding, and even serve as the foundation for the sun's ongoing blaze—one of the sources of life.
From Set, Hikigaya had gained the power of dryness, the complete opposite. This power brought heat and burning, dried up rivers, turned green lands into scorched earth—it was the script for death.
He had only used a little of it—and it blew up his room…
Although losing his ability to "talk people to death just by reading a book" wasn't exactly convenient, Hikigaya didn't believe that the power of dryness was in any way inferior.
At the end of the day, fundamental powers tend to be more terrifying than mere techniques.
Indeed, his repeated acquisition of the essential powers of gods didn't seem to be a coincidence—it appeared that this was the nature of his authority.
Unfortunately, there were no other god slayers with similar powers for Hikigaya to reference. He would have to figure out the best path forward by himself.
Walking along the road, Hikigaya could see the results of his massive light devouring earlier.
Even though light had returned to the city, the chaos caused by the earlier incident wasn't so easily calmed.
Everyone wore expressions of panic and unease.
Of course, there were always a few reckless types who hadn't calmed down yet—naturally, they'd soon be treated to a visit from the police.
Hikigaya resolved to use his power more responsibly in the future. He had now directly experienced just how much influence a god slayer's unconscious actions could have—more deeply than ever before.
Even rabbits don't eat grass near their burrow.
At least at this moment, that's how he felt. As for whether he could live up to that in the future, well, not even the heavens would know.
Worried about Komachi, Hikigaya didn't go home first, but instead visited her school.
The result: a tear-streaked Komachi, with a face like a mess, wiped all the unknown substances off her face onto his clothes…
But at least he was relieved—his dumb little sister was fine and could continue running wild, no need to worry.
However, just when Hikigaya was single-mindedly thinking about rushing home to change clothes, his bad luck hadn't ended. On the way home, he ran into Ena, whom he hadn't seen for a whole day.
"What happened, Hachiman?"
The Sword Priestess was still arrogantly carrying her weapon around.
But the worried expression on her face didn't seem fake.
"It's nothing, just talked a little smack with someone."
What Hikigaya really wanted to say was—your bro is really badass now, got one hand dry and the other hand wet.
But that kind of ridiculous joke was best left unsaid.
"Hmm… I don't really get it, but I guess that means it's not a big deal."
Of course, Ena couldn't pick up on Hikigaya's hidden meaning. In fact, her tension came from another source, and she quickly said:
"More importantly, did you run into any people from the Yomi side?"
"Oh? Is something going on?"
"I heard that some of the strongest Yomi masters have come to Japan—for you."
Huh? Why?
Hikigaya was curious.
In his impression, the Yomi folks were usually the "I'm awesome but not exactly friendly" tsundere types.
Even though they had shown goodwill through their disciples, they didn't seem the type to grovel.
So far, he hadn't met any of the "Nine Fists" aside from the Demon King Fist.
Why the sudden appearance?
"I haven't contacted them," Hikigaya said while stroking his chin—he was getting more fond of this gesture lately. "So what exactly do they want?"
"Not just them—the Sword King of Europe is here too. The people of the Yomi are serving him now."
Huh? That kind of sounds… hostile?
"Geez, Hachiman, you're really clueless. The Yomi's weapon faction pledged allegiance to the Sword King years ago."
Ena looked worried.
"I heard he's a complete wild card—not only does he seek traces of gods, he also enjoys challenging his own kind. I think… he's here to find you."
The Italian Sword King—should be that blonde guy from the anime. Another one who liked carrying deadly weapons around.
He didn't appear much, but every time he did, Hikigaya—who watched the anime—always thought this guy was basically the poster child for "has a screw loose."
The first time he showed up, he was calling Kusanagi Godou—totally radiating a bromantic aura.
To be fair, while Hikigaya wasn't fond of Godou either, at least that guy's orientation was pretty normal—he roasted the guy right back and hung up.
So why would this dude come looking for him? To fight?
Didn't he also steal one of Voban's prey?
Hikigaya's expression changed. That old man Voban was currently in Chiba… crap, could there be a fight?
Just swallowing light had such a huge impact on the area. If two god slayers started a fight here…
His property suddenly felt very unsafe.
So, he asked tentatively:
"Um… Ena, are you aware that Marquis Voban is currently in Chiba City?"
Seeing Ena's face turn pale in an instant, Hikigaya didn't even need her to answer.
Alright then. For the safety of his house and his ridiculous little sister, he had to get rid of that Italian guy…