Not a detective

Page 173

This was an unprecedented convergence and collision, and even the Zashiki-warashi was in pain, retreating repeatedly and dodging constantly.

Asakawa Riku slowly opened his eyes.

The blood droplets on his eyelashes shimmered with a golden hue, and the bloodstains winding across the rooftop resembled red snakes that had gained life, returning to his body.

His skin was undergoing a sacred peeling and rebirth. Old scars turned into gold leaf and drifted away, and the new skin texture presented the quality of a snow-capped peak under the rising sun.

The most astonishing change occurred in the eyes; the irises almost transformed into two burning prominences, turning a pure gold color, just like the halos around the skin.

Dongyun Sueyue slowly took two steps back, looking at the many changes in Asakawa Riku without surprise, only smiling, as if she had expected it.

Asakawa Riku flexed his fingers, then clenched his fist again and released it, feeling that everything was under control, and the pain and discomfort were completely gone.

A golden light surrounded his body, especially his skin. His physique had not changed significantly, but he looked even more sacred and inviolable.

Like a god descended to earth, a true "reborn one".

Yes, the so-called "Nirvana One" is also the unknowable "divine descent state," which is the third form after "Snow Child" and "Makara."

This time, it was a skill that Asakawa Riku and Shinonome Suetsuki developed together. They researched it for several months and finally completed a perfect replica.

Since performing the miracle of [Magad] with Hoshino on the island, he felt he was gaining more and more control over how to actively use this ability. However, this miracle couldn't be replicated by just anyone. At least after Yuki and Hoshino, no one else had been able to achieve that perfect, mysterious state of harmony. At that moment, he thought of someone: the detective.

They succeeded.

The power of the [Nirvana One] is simple yet powerful enough: it is to inherit her superpower of "resurrection" and achieve a flawless "indestructible golden body".

In this state, Asakawa Riku will recover from any damage he suffers, and he can even be resurrected after death. It is the strongest defensive stance that needs no further explanation.

"Let's continue the game."

He calmly spoke forward, though the terrified face of the Zashiki-warashi was not visible: "I'm back."

Zashiki-warashi no Autumn: Chapter Fifty-Four - Wrong Guess

"What! How is this possible! How can you be resurrected too!!"

Prajna completely transformed into a shrew, screaming hysterically, "How many secrets have you been hiding from me?!"

The Zashiki-warashi also wore an expression of disbelief; this was completely beyond her expectations.

"You just said... don't let him risk his life, you guys..."

"Of course it's acting skills. Otherwise, how could I get you to agree to this bet?"

Shinonome Suetsuki laughed triumphantly and made a "V" sign.

This trick successfully made the monsters believe that only Suetsuki could be resurrected, while Asakawa Riku could not; once dead, he was dead.

By concealing the most crucial clue, they brought this unfair bet to the scales.

However, she was actually somewhat guilty.

At that moment, the emotions of "jealousy," "escape," and "fear" that arose in her were not entirely false, but rather the result of the influence of the Prajna magic.

If she were truly manipulated by jealousy, she might even forget about the [Nirvana One] and forget that Asakawa Riku could be resurrected; this is the effect of being deceived.

Fortunately, Asakawa Riku's words at that time pulled her back from the brink of danger. In fact, Asakawa Riku was the calmest one; he was not affected at all.

"Because it's still uncertain whether it will succeed."

Asakawa Riku moved his joints, still getting used to his golden body after his resurrection.

He said to Prajna, no, to Hoshino, "I was planning to tell you later."

This is not a lie. The ability of the [Nirvana One] was indeed only recently developed. The most obvious example is the "blood-drawing mahjong" he played with Mo Yue.

What ordinary person would play with such perverted things?

Mo Yue wasn't a heartless madman, nor was he a heartless gambler; he wasn't that desperate for money.

Why did I have to play that particular game?

It's actually quite simple; it's just to test the regenerative abilities of the [Nirvana One] and see just how far they can go.

By continuously drawing blood from the body to test the speed and limits of recovery, a testing method that Higashino Suetsuki herself had used before, was why she introduced it to him.

It was Xingyu who played with her back then, but instead of paying her own wages, she took a lot of the detective's blood. That's the truth.

Therefore, the two people playing mahjong in the office were actually in the golden [Nirvana] form, just another slightly dangerous experiment.

He won't die from having his blood drawn, but the most he's ever had drawn is 1600cc, which isn't the limit that can kill him.

Because the experiment doesn't need to go to that extent.

He and Shinonome Suetsuki agreed that there was no need to actually kill him for the sake of the experiment. They would regret it if he couldn't be resurrected, or if the [Nirvana One] hadn't reached that level.

This is no joke; it's not worth taking such a risk.

Therefore, before this day, Asakawa Riku actually did not know whether the [Nirvana One] could be resurrected.

He said he was "risking his life to participate in this gamble," and that wasn't a lie. He genuinely had the awareness to participate and was willing to go to such lengths.

Then fate rewarded his expectations, giving him another chance even though he hadn't guessed the coin.

"What are you standing there for? Round two, it's time to begin."

Asakawa Riku said coldly.

"……Well."

Zashiki-warashi fell completely silent. This was a game that shouldn't have had a second round; the train had suddenly derailed, exceeding all her plans.

The game should have ended with the death of Asakawa Riku, but after Asakawa Riku was resurrected, he regained the chips to start the game, so there was no reason to stop.

To be precise, once the game has started, both parties meet the conditions, and agree to continue, she, as the referee, no longer has the power to stop it.

"Let's begin...! Let's see how many times you can revive!"

Prajna was clearly out of control; her frantic emotions grew increasingly agitated, and she gestured wildly.

They won't stop until they kill Asakawa Riku; this guy has fallen into an extreme state and can't be stopped.

Doesn't she understand? Asakawa Riku now has countless lives, which means he has countless chips. He can fail countless times, but he only needs to guess right once.

The original probability of 50% has been reduced to 25% after one attempt. Guessing the coin twice in a row has significantly reduced the probability.

Next, this probability will continue to decrease until he guesses correctly once, at which point the game will end.

...This is not a game of luck at all, but a one-sided, crushing game!

Despite everything, Higashion Suetsuki deliberately changed the rules to "coin toss," indicating that she had planned and arranged all of this long ago, just waiting for them to fall into the trap.

However, Zashiki-warashi remained silent for a moment, offering no comment, and then smiled as he tossed the second coin:

"Okay, let's begin."

"front."

"Wrong, the opposite [curse], you lost."

Things happened almost in quick succession. Asakawa Riku frowned slightly, seemingly out of luck, as he had once again chosen the wrong answer.

He looked at Shinonome Suetsuki, who shook her head, showing no objection to the result announced by the Zashiki-warashi. It seemed that the coin was indeed tails.

The Zashiki-warashi said that the referee cannot cheat or interfere with the coin toss. Since this is part of the rules, he shouldn't be lying.

"The winner will gain the absolute power to kill Asakawa Riku."

"Hahaha! Looks like luck is still on my side, fate is still on my side!!"

So he accepted the reality of failure with equanimity. Once again, the blood in his body burst open, staining his body red once more, the gold covered by crimson.

Asakawa Riku's expression remained completely unchanged. Just a few seconds later, some of the blood, before it even touched the ground, quickly floated up into the air and flowed back into his body.

The recovery speed of the [Nirvana One] is simply astonishing; the interval between cardiac arrests may not even be as long as the time of a single pulse, and thus they escape from the brink of death.

On the surface, it appeared that he had only closed his eyes for a short while before regaining his senses.

The golden light washed away the bloodstains, and it returned to its sacred appearance:

"continue."

"Round Three, Begin."

"front."

"Wrong, the opposite [curse], you lost."

"The winner will gain the absolute power to kill Asakawa Riku."

"Again, again, again!!"

Prajna's excited voice echoed on the rooftop. She shouted loudly, her face flushed with excitement, as if she had found enjoyment in killing Asakawa Riku.

Asakawa Riku has already died three times under her command.

He guessed wrong three times in a row.

Zashiki-warashi no Aki: Chapter 55 Conspiracy

On Shinonome Suetsuki's side, worries were beginning to creep in.

Even with the ability to "resurrect," how long could one endure a series of deaths?

She had experienced something similar before, and she died twice in a row due to an accident.

Mo Yue never wanted to recall that experience, selectively forgetting why she died twice.

She only vaguely remembered that when she was resurrected for the second time, she almost vomited up her entire stomach.

Then she developed a high fever that wouldn't go down and stayed in bed for several days. It was Xingyu who patiently took care of her, and she eventually recovered slowly, though she remained weak for a long time.

The side effects of dying twice in a row are similar to a severe cold, so if the number of deaths increases further, it is very likely to be more serious.

This was even after Shinonome Suetsuki had become accustomed to resurrection and adapted to the pain.

There might even be a theoretical limit to this resurrection; after a certain number of times, the body might collapse.

She speculated that this was mainly because the replication of memories accumulated too much in a short period of time, causing too much mental and brain burden.

Even taking large amounts of medication cannot combat this waste residue; it can only be gradually eliminated over time.

Her situation is this: being resurrected does not mean she is completely invincible.

But judging from Asakawa Riku's current condition, it seems that after being resurrected three times, he can still maintain a calm demeanor and does not appear to be in any obvious discomfort.

Is it because his body has a strong ability to withstand stress, or is he just putting on a brave face and not wanting to show weakness in front of the enemy?

What Mo Yue didn't know was that the [Nirvana One] was different from her superpower; it was almost a higher stage, a more perfect form.

Even though Asakawa Riku had been resurrected three times, there were no side effects. Each resurrection was accompanied by a thorough purification and cleansing.

Just like a dispelling skill that removes negative effects, his memories won't be copied like Mo Yue's, thus not burdening his brain, so he doesn't need to take medication.

Otherwise, just thinking about replicating the memories of "18 years in the previous life + 17 years in this life" is enough to give me a headache.

In fact, with the power of the [Nirvana] golden body, Asakawa Riku could have violently overturned the table at any time, but he didn't do so in order to keep the game going.

Only by continuing the game can the conditions for Savior Feather be met, so he is essentially suppressing his own power and being forced to play this game.

Otherwise, the possession by Prajna might not be able to be broken.

But how long will this game continue?

To be precise, he has lost three times in a row, guessing the coin's direction wrong three times in a row. The probability of this is one in eight, or 12.5%.

Next time, it will be 6%.

Is it really that unlucky? Is it possible that the coin just won't land heads? Should we try flipping it to tails?

He wanted to rescue Xingyu as soon as possible, preferably this time, to avoid any unforeseen complications.

"Round Four—"

Zashiki-warashi tossed the coin again.

...

Just as Asakawa Riku was racking his brains over this guess, Shinonome Suetsuki, standing behind him, had already widened her eyes.

Yes, it's impossible for a person to be that unlucky; Asakawa Riku did not guess the coin three times in a row incorrectly.

The first two times, it was indeed bad luck that the coin landed on tails, so his loss was not unjust. But the problem arose the third time.