Chapter 39: Sending Them Off
The authority Hikigaya usurped from Osiris was now a power that fully acted on life and death, the gateway between the current world and the afterlife.
Through this power, Hikigaya could control the flourishing and decay of all things, adjusting the high and low points of life.
A short while ago, while studying this authority, he discovered a secret.
That is, when he suppressed the life force of a living being to its lowest point, infinitely approaching death, that being would undergo some extraordinary changes.
Namely, to maintain enough energy to sustain the state of "life," everything dispensable would be discarded, or it would serve to draw energy from the outside. In this state, Hikigaya could perform extensive modifications to their life form.
At the same time, Hikigaya also found that he could convert living people into a state between life and death, somewhat similar to Voban's death servants. The biggest difference was that Hikigaya could not control them; the subjects he converted retained their independence of will.
Regardless, Hikigaya had never tried these methods on people before.
Seizing the opportunity this time, he experimented to his heart's content, and the results satisfied him greatly.
The benefit of using this move on humans was that it didn't matter whether Hikigaya could directly control them or not; he merely needed to ensure they maintained their current state.
No one wanted to watch themselves rot away.
Hikigaya gave this technique a name: the "Life-and-Death Pills." Every living dead person received a pill he casually kneaded, which guaranteed their body would remain fresh for one year.
The word "politician" certainly doesn't sound good, but those who become politicians are definitely not ordinary people. And every one of these extraordinary individuals had plenty of reasons to continue "living." This was no different from Hikigaya controlling them directly.
It was just one was fully automatic, and the other was semi-automatic.
In any case, for Hikigaya, there were few people left in this country who had the guts to interfere with him, and no one who had the ability to.
He continued his happy pursuit of trouble for the Weapon Faction using the map.
Of course, before setting off, he said a proper goodbye to Anne and learned that the old man named Best was Anne's good partner for ten years—and thus Hikigaya learned that Anne had been a God Slayer and a cross-dressing enthusiast for ten years.
That hobby really was unusual...
And so, after a proper farewell, Hikigaya began operating on the East Coast just as he had on the West Coast.
In short, for smaller buildings, fire was the solution; for larger ones, a thunderstorm was the welcome; and for those hiding underground, they were sent a lava bath.
Finally, when Hikigaya had cleared the last target in North America, only one map remained in his hand.
He decided he could postpone dealing with the country across the Atlantic for now. He chose to look for the Eight Shining Fists of Condemnation.
They were easy to find, as they were in the sparsely populated country north of the Great Lakes, and the Eight Shining Fists had already gathered there specifically to wait for him to come for reckoning.
At this level of martial artist, there couldn't be any cowards left. The remaining seven scapegoats did nothing unnecessary. Even knowing they were certain to be killed by Hikigaya, no one ran away and lost face.
The reason was simple and direct: the reputation of their martial arts was far more important than their own lives.
They only forwarded one request to Hikigaya through the One Shadow Nine Fists—they hoped to die as martial artists.
Hikigaya did not refuse. This was also a tradition of Yomi, after all, the one who actually caused the trouble had already died on the spot.
Seeking trouble with the other Eight Shining Fists of Condemnation was actually just a way to make a statement, and to clean up the Weapon Faction in the process.
After all, after eliminating so many people, Hikigaya's anger had mostly subsided.
Conservatively estimated, he had sent at least a hundred thousand people to the Western Paradise on this trip, and that didn't even count the last stronghold in the UK, which Hikigaya also didn't plan to spare.
When doing things, it's either you don't do it, or you see it through completely.
Hikigaya really hated the style of periodically coming out to show off and then retreating. He didn't have the energy or patience to constantly negotiate with people.
Nunavut Territory, that's what the place was called.
The entire territory is mostly covered by ice and snow, with many undeveloped areas, and it has never been polluted by industrialization, thus maintaining its most pristine natural beauty. As far as the eye can see is a magnificent, pure silver-white land.
In this territory, there are many national, regional, or historical parks and wildlife sanctuaries. The Aulavik National Park on Banks Island, north of its capital, Iqaluit, is a breeding ground for arctic birds. The floating ice in the northern sea is a paradise for whales, walruses, and seabirds, and the Arctic permafrost is a natural carpet made up of a colorful array of mosses, lichens, and flowering plants, home to over 100 species of birds.
In the eyes of Yomi martial artists, this kind of place was an excellent location for training.
There are also indigenous people here, known as the Inuit. Human historical sites in this land date back four thousand years.
It was a good place to die a proper death.
When Hikigaya arrived, the remaining seven members of the Eight Shining Fists of Condemnation and every single member of the One Shadow Nine Fists from the Hand-to-Hand Faction were waiting.
Speaking of which, Hikigaya had never actually met the One Shadow himself.
To be precise, the current One Shadow was fake.
This might be misleading. It's not that the One Shadow was swapped, but rather... the so-called One Shadow had actually been two people for a long time. One of them was the biological son of the old man from Ryōzanpaku, who was the original One Shadow.
However, Hikigaya had known for a long time that this son hadn't been with Yomi for many years; it was always the other person impersonating him.
And it was this person who had expressed goodwill when Hikigaya first became a God Slayer.
"Greetings, everyone. It's been a while." Stepping onto the snow, Hikigaya first greeted the One Shadow Nine Fists.
In the Underworld, the One Shadow Nine Fists, as a team, were more famous and influential than the Eight Shining Fists of Condemnation, not only because there were more people, but also because their quality was indeed higher.
After Hikigaya greeted them, the top martial artists bowed back one by one according to their respective country's traditions.
The Demon God Fist was among the more awkward ones. After all, from a relationship standpoint, Hikigaya was once his disciple, but now he had become the Lord of Yomi.
And from this day forward, both the Weapon Faction and the Hand-to-Hand Faction would have the same spiritual leader.
Because Doni had proven with his actions just how unreliable he was.
If the same situation were to happen to Hikigaya, even if the opponent was Voban or Luo Hao, he would confront them first.
But now, his gaze was fixed on the other seven people.
The Eight Shining Fists of Condemnation.
"No need for further words. Your martial arts will not be cut off; they will be passed down. Besides that, is there anything you need to say regarding your final wishes?" Hikigaya asked. "Taking care of your descendants is also possible, after all, you created the Weapon Faction."
"Nothing more, Lord Hikigaya." The tallest man, Wanonosuke Segikō, who stood over two meters tall, stepped forward. "It is enough. Please allow us to properly feel the martial arts capable of defeating a god!"
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