Closing the diary, Amamiya Rin put the notebook away and turned to head down to the first floor.
Takagi was still lying on the floor at the entryway, unconscious.
Amamiya Rin grabbed his ankles, dragged him into the bathroom, and positioned his face under the faucet.
Turning on the faucet, a stream of freezing water splashed onto Takagi's face.
In no time, Takagi jolted awake, the intense pain in his jaw twisting his entire face.
He struggled, trying to sit up, but Amamiya Rin stomped heavily on his chest, slamming his back against the floor.
"I have a few questions I want to ask you."
Amamiya Rin's Wooden sword was stained with a mixture of red and white liquids. He pressed the sharp tip of the blade against Takagi's forehead, letting the clear water wash over it.
"Although I don't think there's any need to hold out hope, is anyone from the owner's family of this villa still alive?"
Amamiya Rin's gaze was cold; the look he directed down at Takagi carried lethal intent.
"Alive..."
Takagi's gaze was murky. It took a good while before his eyes focused on Amamiya Rin's face and his brain cleared up a bit.
After grasping his current situation, Takagi revealed a mocking smile.
"Ah, ah, are you here for a visit? Please head to the second floor. The only masters capable of receiving guests, other than me, are the women on the second floor."
With a crooked jaw, Takagi spat out those malicious words in a slurred tone.
Amamiya Rin's wrist sank. The Wooden sword slid down Takagi's forehead and rested over his right eye.
"Do you have anything else to say?"
His eyeball deformed slightly under the pressure of the Wooden sword. That bizarre sense of oppression made Takagi instinctively hold his breath. The mixture of blood and brain matter coated his right eye, bringing a viscous and freezing sensation.
On the other side, Takagi's left eye focused on Amamiya Rin's bloodstained sportswear and missing left ear. Catching a glimpse of the filth staining the Wooden sword, he instantly understood everything.
He parted his bleeding lips and let out a hoarse, raspy laugh.
"It seems you've already met them. Isn't it very—Ah!"
Before Takagi could finish his sentence, the tip of Amamiya Rin's sword pressed down.
The wooden edge sank into the soft tissue of the eyeball. Takagi's right eye was like a punctured grape; clear fluid mixed with fresh blood spilled from the wound.
Takagi let out a shrill, miserable scream. The excruciating pain sent his entire body into convulsions. His hands clawed at the floor, his nails scraping a piercing screech against the tiles, but his body remained entirely immobile under Amamiya Rin's foot.
"I ask, you answer. Don't spout any nonsense outside of my questions."
Amamiya Rin's expression grew increasingly ruthless. He slowly pulled the blade of the Wooden sword out of Takagi's right eye socket, dragging out a string of blood beads and ruptured tissue.
By now, Takagi's right eye had turned into a mangled mess of flesh and blood, sinking deeply into the socket.
"Second question. Your diary mentioned alchemy. Where did you get it from? Give me the address."
Takagi's body trembled violently from the severe pain, hoarse gasps escaping his throat. It was evident he couldn't immediately organize his words to answer Amamiya Rin.
Amamiya Rin frowned, raised his foot, and viciously stomped his shoe sole into Takagi's ribs.
"Gah—!"
The bones buckling under the pressure, Takagi screamed and curled up, but his attention seemed to finally shift away from his eye to another spot.
"Answer my question."
Takagi's face twisted hideously. It took a long time before he finally managed to string his words together.
"Half a month ago... in an alley in Shibuya... I met a woman wearing a trench coat... She asked me if she was beautiful... I thought it was... the Slit-Mouthed Woman... She opened her trench coat... underneath was a flesh body without skin... Later... I followed her... to her residence in Setagaya Ward... I hid outside the window and eavesdropped... She and her younger sister were talking... They mentioned... the recipe for shedding skin... The address is... Setagaya Ward... Shimokitazawa... 3-chome 24-banchi..."
Takagi spoke brokenly, drawing in cold breaths from time to time. He looked exceptionally strained, but in the end, he revealed the origin of the alchemy.
Amamiya Rin nodded slightly. This family was already beyond saving, but the flesh-colored monster could be dealt with, helping that kid—who was constantly forced by his mother to be skinned—escape his family of origin.
"Now then, the final question. How did you determine that I wasn't Kawakami Tomie?"
With the important matters handled, Amamiya Rin recalled something of little consequence. The fact that Takagi could recognize at a glance that he wasn't Kawakami Tomie was quite a strange occurrence.
"Do you have no self-awareness?!"
In a flash, Takagi's left eye widened fiercely. On top of the pain and terror, a heavy layer of mockery was added to his twisted face.
"I don't want to repeat myself. Cut the crap!"
Amamiya Rin raised the Wooden sword and spoke coldly.
"You're inferior to Tomie... You don't have her charm... Although you look very similar... there's still a gap... Your faces... Compared to Tomie, you're just an ugly woman!"
Takagi's left eye gleamed with a crazed hue, along with undisguised disdain and contempt.
"My face?"
Amamiya Rin instinctively touched his cheek, a look of confusion surfacing on his face.
That shouldn't be right. There wouldn't be any difference in Kawakami Tomie's appearance. Even if he was the one using it, he was only lowering its seductive charm through his expressions and attitude; in reality, he was still just as beautiful.
"Forget it."
Amamiya Rin gripped the hilt with both hands, not planning to obsess over the ravings of a madman.
"Wait! Hold on! Don't! Are you trying to kill me? Don't! I can't die yet! I still haven't discovered Tomie's secret...!"
Seeing Amamiya Rin raise the Wooden sword high above his head, terror finally appeared on Takagi's face. Spraying bloody froth from his mouth, his body twisted as he shuffled backward, desperately trying to put distance between himself and Amamiya Rin.
"I have never killed anyone, nor do I plan to. Even though swordsmanship is a killing art, I didn't learn the sword to kill."
Amamiya Rin said flatly.
A glimmer of hope lit up in Takagi's eye.
"However, from the bottom of my heart, I feel that you are no longer human."
Before his voice even faded, the Wooden sword in Amamiya Rin's hands had already transformed into a streak of brown lightning, chopping down vertically!
Crack—!
The sharp edge of the Wooden sword cleaved precisely into Takagi's neck, snapping his cervical vertebrae with a crisp sound. His head lolled to the side at an unnatural angle, his eye bulging wide open, seemingly unable to comprehend Amamiya Rin's words.
"When slaying non-human entities, my heart harbors no hesitation."
Amamiya Rin gave his wrist a flick and withdrew the Wooden sword.
Takagi's body twitched twice, and then all signs of life vanished.
He flicked off the blood beads from the blade, wiped the Wooden sword clean with a towel, and then dried off the water with clean paper before finally sheathing it and turning to leave the bathroom.
Passing through the hallway thick with the stench of blood, Amamiya Rin began rummaging through the chests and cabinets inside the villa.
In this country, depositing money into a bank not only yielded no interest, but actually cost money. Therefore, Amamiya Rin easily found the stash of wealth—over a million yen in cash in total.
Tucking away the money, Amamiya Rin finally walked out of the villa. He turned to face the building, clasped his hands together, and prayed silently.
"I don't know the Great Compassion Mantra or anything like that, so I'll just bless you all to become Buddhas as soon as possible. As for this money, since you're already dead anyway, just lend it to me for now. I promise I won't use it for any wicked deeds, so please rest in peace."
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