Chapter 30: Transform Villain - Omokage ③

"Hey, Inori!"

The one calling my name while running over was Raiden.

That’s unusual. He’s the kind of guy you’d usually expect to show up late, like the old saying about heroes. Which means, by the time Raiden arrives, I’m usually already beaten down by a villain.

But I’m still fine right now. So for Raiden to be calling out to me like this… maybe this is actually the first time.

"What’s up?"

The reply came in the form of a stabbing.

Apparently Raiden had decided to show off his speed. He moved so fast I couldn’t even track it, and before I realized it, there was a knife stuck in my chest.

"Ugh… damn, that’s nastier than I thought. Makes me sick…"

For some reason, the one doing the stabbing was more put off than I was.

The something wearing Raiden’s face wiped my blood off its hand on the hero suit. Raiden’s suit was mostly white, accented with yellow streaks like lightning. Which made my blood stand out vividly.

Yeah, this ain’t Raiden.

I’d already heard about this from Ratlord, so I wasn’t as surprised as I might’ve been.

The transformation villain—Omokage.

Guess Ratlord got stabbed the same way. In my case it was Raiden, but I wonder who Omokage disguised itself as when it approached Ratlord.

Anyway, seeing it recoil after stabbing me, I could tell it wasn’t the type that enjoyed killing. Which meant I could probably squeeze some sympathy out of it.

I twisted my face into the most pitiful expression I could muster, overflowing with despair.

"Why… why would you… do something like this…?"

"Uh…"

I spoke in broken gasps, letting blood dribble from my mouth. The Raiden-looking thing flinched.

"It’s my fault, isn’t it? I’ll do anything… just don’t hate me…"

"U-uh…!"

It flinched even harder.

I forced myself not to blink, drying out my eyes until tears finally spilled over. Crying on demand is my specialty. Never had much use for it, though—no point crying over nothing.

"Hey, Raiden."

My voice, made nasal from crying, sounded even more tragic.

I stepped closer and ran a hand along Raiden’s mask. It didn’t pull away.

I’d never even done this to the real one. Surprisingly smooth. I’d thought it was some kind of cloth, but maybe it’s plastic or metal… not that it matters right now.

"Tell me you love me."

When I wrapped my arms around it, the Raiden-like thing froze. The hilt of the knife sticking out of my chest got shoved deeper inside, but whatever.

"Now! Get it—capture it!"

"What!?"

I turned the hug into a restraint. Not that my scrawny arms could hold anything down.

Naturally, the one who moved in to capture Omokage was Flux.

If Flux had gone all-out from the start, I wouldn’t have been stabbed. But the real goal here was catching Omokage. To draw it in as close as possible, getting stabbed was part of the plan.

He’d resisted hard when we discussed it beforehand, but in the end, he must’ve decided leaving Omokage alone was the greater danger. So he agreed, and here we were pulling off a successful ambush.

Flux closed in quickly, sealing Omokage inside a water sphere in no time.

I pulled away, yanking the knife out of my chest and flipping the middle finger.

"Hell yeah, bastard! Don’t screw with me! Like I’d ever die from one measly knife!"

"So that whole pitiful Inori act just now was an illusion, huh."

I can heal stab wounds in an instant! How many times do you think villains have torn me to shreds already!?

"My, not bad. Can you even copy body traits too?"

Flux let out an impressed voice. Inside the water sphere, Raiden’s form had vanished.

And then there were two Fluxes. Omokage had shifted again, this time into Mio’s likeness.

It looked like liquid within liquid, but I couldn’t tell where one Flux ended and the other began.

"But if it’s the same ability, the one with better control is gonna win♡"

Flux’s power was strong on its own, but his real strength lay in how flexibly he could apply it.

"See? You’ve gotta handle it faster and sharper. Otherwise, I’ll just take control, and you’re losing volume by the second."

Since both were liquid, I couldn’t tell what was happening just by looking. But from what Flux was saying, he was the one in control.

…He is the one saying this, right? Not Omokage disguised as him?

"You’re good at mimicry. But liquid can take any shape. Unlike you, who can only trace what’s already there, I’m free to become whatever I want. So of course I’ll win."

"Gh…!"

"Ufufu. Keep this up, and I’ll steal every drop of your liquid. Then your self-awareness will vanish completely."

That was terrifying to hear.

If Flux lost his liquid to assimilate with, he’d lose his sense of self. Maybe he’d disappear entirely. Would he ever turn back into a human?

Flux’s skill wasn’t something you could copy overnight.

Omokage seemed to realize that and gave up—this time changing into me.

"Nice. Now we can kill it."

"Killing a friend does leave me with some guilt, though~"

"You’ve already done it before."

"Oh, that’s right. Ufufu!"

We chuckled darkly at the joke, and then the thing wearing my face drowned inside Flux’s water sphere.

If it had copied my body all the way down to its constitution, there was no way that alone would kill it.

Sure enough, after watching for a while, it just repeated the cycle of dying, regenerating, then drowning again.

It looked pitiful—well, because it looked like me.

"Can you leave just the ears exposed?"

"As you command."

Flux let its ears poke out of the watery cage so it could hear better.

Perfect. Time to borrow some of the tiger’s power. This was all Flux’s doing, but I was going to ride the momentum like a pro.

"Turning into me was a bad move. That means you can’t die anymore. If you try changing into someone else to escape, you’ll just drown. If you want to survive, you have to stay as me with my regeneration. And since I’m too weak to break out, you’re stuck. We can kill you over and over, tormenting you endlessly. Too bad for you—my body always restores itself, nerves and all. That means the pain never fades, never numbs. You’ll feel every bit of it, fresh each time."

I laid it all out for it.

If Omokage could copy someone just by looking, it might already know all this—but better to spell it out anyway.

A torturer has to stay calm, after all. …Or so I’ve heard.

"We’ve got plenty of time today. We’ll keep going until you finally break through your fear of death and decide to give up on being me."

I waited for Omokage to drown and revive again before asking Flux to let its mouth above the water.

Like a fish gasping on land, it sucked at the air desperately. Watching it, I made a generous offer.

"If you’re willing to talk like a gentleman, we might let you out."

"I’ll do whatever you say! Just don’t kill me!"

"Don’t beg for your life while looking like me, would you? It’s pathetic."

Says the one who begged for his life against D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. …But at least I managed to look a little cooler about it. The “Detonate-style” way of talking automatically makes you sound badass.

Well, anyway. Looked like we could get answers without having to drag out the torture.

I was about to say “Nice work” when I glanced back—Flux’s face was tight and grim.

"Huh? Something wrong?"

"…No. It’s nothing."

"That is definitely not nothing. Is this one of those times where you’d rather I just leave it alone?"

"Yes. For now."

Maybe watching me torture Omokage brought back memories of when he’d been on the receiving end of it. If so, I felt kinda bad.

But the only thing I could do right now… was respect that and leave it alone.

"Alright, then. Let’s head back to my place."

"Inori, you know this is just going to give Jin more wrinkles on his forehead."

Flux pried open a manhole cover and dragged Omokage down into it.

No matter how many times I saw it, that motion was pure creature behavior. Well, he was an ex-villain—guess that figures.