Chapter 114
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Kidnapping (5)
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After I truly bared my killing intent, the fight became one-sided.
"Gahk!"
"Shut your trap."
I unleashed everything in my arsenal—weapons and techniques alike—pressing Tsutomu relentlessly like a madman.
Whenever he lunged at me, I'd counter his momentum with a hip toss to pin him down, then crush his throat with my forearm until he choked.
The moment he broke free and swung at me, I'd read his center of gravity and sweep his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground.
After taking that much punishment, Tsutomu must have realized he was outmatched. He shoved me away and bolted.
I didn't pursue the fleeing Tsutomu.
Well, more precisely, I couldn't.
Truth be told, scaling that treacherous mountain and engaging in such an intense brawl had already drained my stamina to rock bottom.
Actually, it was because I'd let my rage override any concern for my limits while throttling him.
Had Tsutomu not fled, I might have collapsed first.
Of course, that was...
"Gulp. Gulp. Gulp. Ahh—delicious."
...only if I hadn't had a Stamina Recovery Potion.
Takuya downed the potion in one go and broke into a sprint back toward Tsutomu.
Meanwhile, just as Takuya chugged his Stamina Recovery Potion and set off to catch Tsutomu...
"Huff...! Huff...! Damn it...! Damn it...! Daaaamn iiiit—!!!"
Tsutomu was gripped by intense fear.
More precisely, the fear of death.
Truth be told, up until Takuya had let Momiji escape, Tsutomu had been brimming with confidence.
For some inexplicable reason, after catching his breath, a surge of strength and stamina had welled up inside him.
No, it wasn't just a surge—it was power that made him think he could take down even those delinquents who'd once beaten him senseless.
That's why, when he first spotted Takuya, he hadn't worried at all.
He was simply seething with rage at the sight of his prize—his prey—in another man's arms.
And fueled by that fury, Tsutomu had thrown his enhanced physical abilities into trying to kill Takuya (though he couldn't even muster half of them).
But strangely, Tsutomu couldn't kill Takuya.
No, it wasn't just that he couldn't kill him.
'W-what the hell is this...?'
He'd hit a wall.
In truth, he'd underestimated Takuya.
He'd assumed the kid was just like the helpless girls he always kidnapped and murdered.
But this boy was different.
Not only did he effortlessly block every attack, but he flipped Tsutomu around like it was nothing, delivering a sense of utter powerlessness Tsutomu had never experienced before.
And from there, terror began to take root in Tsutomu.
More precisely, the powerlessness of being unable to kill the boy blossomed into full-blown fear the longer they clashed—growing into dread that the kid might kill him.
At that point, he had to make a choice.
Keep fighting until one of them dropped dead, or run.
And between those options, Tsutomu chose to flee.
He had the guts to murder someone far weaker than himself, but none whatsoever to face his own death. He was a utter coward.
No, he'd spent his entire life running.
From bullies into his house, from his abandoning family into 2D fantasies.
The only "courage" he'd ever shown was dragging his perverted lusts from 2D into reality and unleashing them on far weaker victims—a pathetic farce.
Having never mustered real bravery, Tsutomu naturally chose flight in the face of death's terror.
It was a perfectly idiotic, instinctual move straight out of Cowardly Mountain Man Tsutomu's playbook.
That's why Tsutomu would never realize it.
That this choice had sealed his fate.
In any case, as he fled, Tsutomu felt a chilling killing intent locked on his neck.
'Hurry! I have to get away from that demon!'
His instincts screamed that Takuya fully intended to kill him.
No, a coward's instincts warned him it wouldn't end at mere death if he got caught.
That's why, despite his overflowing physical power, he was running.
It was futile anyway—he had no tolerance for pain.
As he bounded up the stairs two at a time to escape Takuya, Tsutomu stewed in his thoughts.
'Why me! Why the hell do I have to go through this?!'
Anyone who'd witnessed even a single one of Tsutomu's actions would have blurted, "Are you serious?"
But Tsutomu was dead serious.
He had no idea why he deserved this.
No, he knew perfectly well—but he was deliberately ignoring it.
Tsutomu was acutely aware of his own crimes.
But the encroaching threat of death twisted his mind into absurd denial.
'Yeah, I've done nothing wrong. It's all society's fault, the government's, the atmosphere—they made me this way!'
It was a shameless act, but what could you do? Even his defense mechanisms were pitiful.
'Why do I have to suffer like this?! Everyone else is happy! Why meee?!'
But hilariously, this mental gymnastics gave Tsutomu a spark of courage.
'Not just me! I won't let it be just me!'
He was a coward to the bitter end.
'I'll kill him!!'
And so he conjured his final coward's thought—a hypocritical blaze of hatred.
It was the mindset of a true coward. No, human trash.
And as Tsutomu prepared his last stand...
Just as Takuya had instructed, Momiji spotted the bear waiting topside, climbed aboard, and felt its warm fur—yet anxiety gnawed at her.
'Is Takuya okay?'
Momiji was scared. Terrified that the man who'd kidnapped her might do something awful to Takuya too.
It was a misunderstanding born of not knowing Takuya's true nature, but it was understandable.
So, the moment she reached the ground, she decided to seek help from anyone nearby.
Maybe his ally would help out too. That's what she thought.
How long had she clung to the warm fur of the bear galloping down the mountain, eyes squeezed shut?
"Grooar."
She heard the bear's voice for the first time since mounting up.
It probably meant they'd arrived. Momiji opened her eyes, and sure enough, they were at the mountain's base.
She carefully dismounted from the bear's back and pleaded.
"T-Takuya might be in danger. Please go help him."
"Grooar."
The bear nodded as if that had been the plan all along, then vanished coolly.
Momiji watched it go for a moment before heading to the spot Takuya had mentioned.
And there, just as promised, was a person.
More precisely...
'Whoa, she's huge!'
The words carried layers of meaning, but naturally, Momiji meant her massive breasts.
No, she was tall too, with long limbs and a petite, celebrity-like face—but those breasts stole the show.
Normally, Momiji might have burned with jealousy, wondering if Takuya liked big-chested women like that, but there was no time for it now.
She dashed straight to the woman and gasped out.
"Hah... Hah... S-sis, Takuya! Takuya's—!"
"Get on first and we'll talk. Takuya said to handle things quietly."
"O-okay."
The unfamiliar woman spoke with remarkable calm, but Momiji could sense it.
That steady voice brimmed with worry and unease.
Realizing this, Momiji nearly nodded and climbed on without thinking.
"Is that true?"
Until a voice from behind—a familiar one—interrupted.
Momiji whipped around in shock.
It was only natural. The voice belonged to...
"Can you tell me more about that?"
...Miwaiko, the female detective she'd met on the street just days ago.
Miwaiko's sudden appearance put the pretty, busty woman—Miyuki—on high alert.
After all, her master had warned most about police interference.
Miyuki was about to say it was none of her business, but before she could, the girl her master had told her to carry—Momiji—spoke first.
"U-up on that mountain, there's this huge brute fighting Takuya-kun!"
"Hmm? Fighting, you say?"
"H-he was rescuing me, and..."
Miwaiko pondered for a moment, then pulled sneakers from the bag at her side, swapped them for her heels, and said,
"Where exactly is this kid?"
"Just follow this watch!"
"Got it. I'll be right back. You can count on your big sis."
"Yes!"
Watching their exchange, Miyuki knew she should stop them—but she couldn't bring herself to.
Honestly, she was worried about Takuya's safety too.
It was genuine emotion, born of love for her beloved and reverence for her master.
And so, in a direction Takuya never anticipated, events began to unfold once more.