Chapter 35: Poison Mist Villain – Usuzumi②
The doorbell rang.
Thinking it was a delivery, I opened the front door, and D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. was standing there.
I shut the door.
A mistake? A daydream? Maybe I was just dozing on my feet.
I opened the door again. D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. was standing there. I shut the door again.
"Hey, Sudama! An acquaintance came to visit, so I’m just stepping out for a bit!"
"What!? Wasn’t the whole point to keep you from leaving the house!? Are you trying to make Mio cry?"
Sudama, who had overheard the back-and-forth between me, Mio, and Ratlord, more or less understood the situation. She had agreed to protect my safety as a matter of course, but honestly, that was nothing new for her.
I might not have much sense for security, but even I didn’t want to let a bomber into the house.
"Just for a bit, just for a bit. If you’re worried, you can secretly tail me."
"I’ve already started baking cookies, so I can’t get away for a while."
Sudama said this with mittens on both hands.
At some point she had bought a nice microwave, and wanting to test the oven function, she had started baking cookies. I still didn’t know where her income came from—maybe she actually had money tucked away? Pension?
"Alright, then come once you’re done baking. I’ll head out."
I opened the front door. D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. was standing there.
I put on my shoes and stepped outside. Locking the door behind me, I took D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E.’s hand and started walking.
He was exactly the same as when we first met. Having seen him explode and scatter into pieces, I might’ve believed it if someone told me this was a clone. Even the soot stains on his lab coat were in the same place.
With his pink pupils darting around, D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. let me pull him along without resistance.
According to Mio, he was probably the type of ability-user who could disassemble himself, but right now there weren’t any visible cuts in his skin—just unhealthy veins bulging under the surface.
"Delighted Every Time Our Names Align, Truthfully Ecstatic."
As always, this man spoke so that the initials formed D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E., and he seemed genuinely delighted at our reunion.
At the very least, he wasn’t here to kill me, which was a relief.
I thought carefully about what to say.
"Don’t Ever Think Our Nearness As Temporary Euphoria."
Of course I was happy to see him too. I was glad he hadn’t died in that explosion.
The last time I saw D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E., he had self-destructed and blown himself to pieces. That memory still gnawed at my trauma.
It wasn’t just that I didn’t want to die in an explosion myself—I didn’t want to see anyone explode in front of me ever again. That’s why my mother’s death had scarred me so deeply. Please, not today.
"Dare Explain Today’s Objective, Not Acting Too Evasive?"
We moved to a nearby park and sat down on a bench.
When I patted the spot beside me, D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. seemed to understand and sat down as well. Honestly, it might’ve been easier to communicate through charades than through his “Detonate-syntax.”
"Delivering Explanation To Offer, Necessary Apology, Truly Earnest."
Our last conversation had been cut short when he self-detonated.
It hadn’t looked like an explosion of his own will. I wanted to hear the details about that.
My guess was that Delta was involved.
"Delta Exerts Total Order, Negating All Traces of Ego?"
"Delta Endangered Those Of Name, A Token Earned."
No one would’ve thought that a madman who could only speak like this—well, one who somehow managed to make sense to me—was actually being threatened into villainy.
If this was the only way he could talk, there was no way he could ask anyone for help.
That must be why Delta had chosen to use him. D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. probably couldn’t hold a conversation with anyone except someone like Delta.
How lonely that must have been.
"Dead. Everything’s Terminated. Over. Nothing Again. Time’s Expired."
D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. said quietly.
"Death Erased The Only Name, A Treasure Existing. Dawn Ends. There’s Only Night. All Things Empty."
It was my fault that things turned out this way.
I had found a moment to speak with D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E., hoping to stop the explosion.
Every word of our conversation had been overheard by Delta.
Betrayal—well, it wasn’t like Delta would’ve been careless, since he had forced D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. to obey in the first place.
At that moment, I thought I might succeed in pleading for his life.
Delta probably thought the same. Seeing me attempt to defy orders, he considered it a violation and abandoned D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E.
The hostages he had kept to control D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. were no longer needed and were eliminated. That was how it went.
I exhaled slowly. I guess I don’t even have the right to sigh.
"Did Everything Turn Out Negative? All That’s On Me."
"Dismiss Every Trespass, Own None; Absolve Thyself Entirely."
Even though he had lost someone precious, D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E.’s voice was gentle.
"Delta’s End Triggered Open Navigation. A Trail Emerges, A Path to Freedom—"
Ironically, by killing the hostages, Delta had freed D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E.
He no longer had to obey Delta’s orders or blow himself up at various locations.
"Debts Etch Torment. Over No-One As Thoroughly, Except You. Despite Every Target Obliterated, None Alive Today Except You."
No one knows D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E.’s face.
Everyone who saw it ended up dying in an explosion.
Having lost someone he wanted to protect at all costs, all that remained in D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. was a sense of atonement.
How could anyone hold a grudge against someone like that?
Fortunately, I hadn’t exploded. Had I died, I might have found it harder to forgive—but in fact, I even felt guilty, thinking that if I hadn’t interfered, D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E.’s precious person might have survived safely.
However, as long as D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E.’s precious person lived, he had no choice but to continue killing.
I couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
I let my words follow the momentum, prioritizing emotion over polish.
"Done. Errors Torched. Over. Now—Accept Truth: Exonerated."
I don’t know what the people killed by D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E., or their families, would think.
But I will forgive him.
Sudama would be coming soon, done baking her cookies.
I stood from the bench and faced D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E.
It was the opposite of the first day he had spoken to me.
"Directionless? Even Then, One Name Awaits: This Enclave."
I extended my hand. D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. stared at it.
His pink pupils, usually darting around constantly, lingered there for a moment.
"Don’t Expect Too Original. Naturally, All Tasks Enacted."
With those words, D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. took my hand of his own volition.
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