Read Online Maohden Vol. 1 by Hideyuki Kikuchi - Free Book Online
Authors: Hideyuki Kikuchi
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shoulders.
“Decades hence, we will meet again. And when we do, remember tonight’s encounter, for therein shall be revealed the fate that awaits you or your son.”
The young one’s laughter, sounding at times like it was issuing from an old, rusty pipe, abruptly stopped.
“Gento Roran, I presume. So nice that you could drop by. I do not enjoy killing children, but the enmity between the Roran and Aki clans extends to even the bugs in our beds. That is the fate that awaits you.”
The man called Renjo Aki raised his hands and stopped. He stared at the gaunt, headless man he had so strangely killed. The torso was, from an utterly perverse perspective, doing what it should naturally do. It leaned forward, reached out, and picked up the head.
The man who had killed him stood there like a statue as the bloody corpse clambered to its feet. The air was thick with magical miasmas and the stench of blood.
In the crystal clear moonlight, the bad dream had taken a turn for the worse.
The arms cradling the head raised it up and placed it on the stump of the neck. Out of alignment at first, the head facing to the side. A quick adjustment brought it facing forward.
The head opened its eyes. A grave and gravelly voice said, “I, Gensei Roran, have spoken. When we meet again, the era will no longer be ours. I shall rest for a while. What shall become of this city? Renjo Aki, this is the time for you to start planning as well.”
The words had barely left his mouth when his body crumpled. In a flash, the bloody black smoke spread through the air and shrouded the dark silhouettes of the three other figures.
As Onizuka tried to keep his eyes open, exercising all of his remaining will, he heard what he took to be Renjo Aki’s voice.
“Sorry for wasting your time, Mr. Policeman.”
Then the headless Roran’s response. “He cannot be left to his own devices. It is not good for the hoi polloi to see their overlords fighting among themselves.”
“I—”
Onizuka feared the voice of that child more than all the rest. Renjo came to his rescue. “There is no need to take his life. I shall take his memories instead.”
“Can you, from this man?”
“Only the exchange of your life after this for being alive. Which would you prefer?”
Hardly a simple struggle between life and death, these mortal enemies not only wagered their souls, but freely dealt with the devil on matters that lay far beyond this realm.
On the verge of losing consciousness, Onizuka croaked out the answer and then slumped to the ground.
Chapter Three
Sasaki concluded the account, his voice exhausted. The young man rested his elbow on the table and cupped his chin in the palm of his hand.
“Fascinating. A truly fascinating story. So for fifteen years, he committed himself voluntarily to a psychiatric facility and didn’t say a word. He shut his mouth and closed the door on his life. They tied up the loose ends in an altogether alarming manner. That was how you came across my name and Roran’s name. So, what do you think? Does that make you a lucky man, or the opposite?”
Though Setsura asked the question with an utterly pleasant smile, Sasaki felt a cold chill down his back.
“I can surmise the rest. The police officer knows nothing. The true heart of the matter yet eludes you. And so you turned to Setsura Aki.”
Sasaki cleared his throat and tried to clear his thoughts of the sheer surprise and that faint sense of terror. He had finally noticed that the young man in front of him was a different person entirely. That smile was the smile of an angel. An angel of death.
“Alas, having only just returned to this city after fifteen years, I’m still getting myself up to speed on the subject. This conversation has served as a tremendously useful reference. Greatly appreciated. That the price should come at the cost of a life is highly unfortunate, to be sure.”
These angelic assurances perversely set Sasaki’s mind at ease. Mopping his
“Decades hence, we will meet again. And when we do, remember tonight’s encounter, for therein shall be revealed the fate that awaits you or your son.”
The young one’s laughter, sounding at times like it was issuing from an old, rusty pipe, abruptly stopped.
“Gento Roran, I presume. So nice that you could drop by. I do not enjoy killing children, but the enmity between the Roran and Aki clans extends to even the bugs in our beds. That is the fate that awaits you.”
The man called Renjo Aki raised his hands and stopped. He stared at the gaunt, headless man he had so strangely killed. The torso was, from an utterly perverse perspective, doing what it should naturally do. It leaned forward, reached out, and picked up the head.
The man who had killed him stood there like a statue as the bloody corpse clambered to its feet. The air was thick with magical miasmas and the stench of blood.
In the crystal clear moonlight, the bad dream had taken a turn for the worse.
The arms cradling the head raised it up and placed it on the stump of the neck. Out of alignment at first, the head facing to the side. A quick adjustment brought it facing forward.
The head opened its eyes. A grave and gravelly voice said, “I, Gensei Roran, have spoken. When we meet again, the era will no longer be ours. I shall rest for a while. What shall become of this city? Renjo Aki, this is the time for you to start planning as well.”
The words had barely left his mouth when his body crumpled. In a flash, the bloody black smoke spread through the air and shrouded the dark silhouettes of the three other figures.
As Onizuka tried to keep his eyes open, exercising all of his remaining will, he heard what he took to be Renjo Aki’s voice.
“Sorry for wasting your time, Mr. Policeman.”
Then the headless Roran’s response. “He cannot be left to his own devices. It is not good for the hoi polloi to see their overlords fighting among themselves.”
“I—”
Onizuka feared the voice of that child more than all the rest. Renjo came to his rescue. “There is no need to take his life. I shall take his memories instead.”
“Can you, from this man?”
“Only the exchange of your life after this for being alive. Which would you prefer?”
Hardly a simple struggle between life and death, these mortal enemies not only wagered their souls, but freely dealt with the devil on matters that lay far beyond this realm.
On the verge of losing consciousness, Onizuka croaked out the answer and then slumped to the ground.
Chapter Three
Sasaki concluded the account, his voice exhausted. The young man rested his elbow on the table and cupped his chin in the palm of his hand.
“Fascinating. A truly fascinating story. So for fifteen years, he committed himself voluntarily to a psychiatric facility and didn’t say a word. He shut his mouth and closed the door on his life. They tied up the loose ends in an altogether alarming manner. That was how you came across my name and Roran’s name. So, what do you think? Does that make you a lucky man, or the opposite?”
Though Setsura asked the question with an utterly pleasant smile, Sasaki felt a cold chill down his back.
“I can surmise the rest. The police officer knows nothing. The true heart of the matter yet eludes you. And so you turned to Setsura Aki.”
Sasaki cleared his throat and tried to clear his thoughts of the sheer surprise and that faint sense of terror. He had finally noticed that the young man in front of him was a different person entirely. That smile was the smile of an angel. An angel of death.
“Alas, having only just returned to this city after fifteen years, I’m still getting myself up to speed on the subject. This conversation has served as a tremendously useful reference. Greatly appreciated. That the price should come at the cost of a life is highly unfortunate, to be sure.”
These angelic assurances perversely set Sasaki’s mind at ease. Mopping his
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