The climax
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- I see Ninth is late. - John Backus, the Eleventh, said with a nasty grin.
- Indeed... you'll answer for that, John Backus. - I grinned slightly. - Just like Tsubaki Kasugano. And Seven will probably not be far behind you and die in terrible agony as well. And given their love for each other, I already have a rough idea of the kind of torture I'll be inflicting.
- I'm revealing the appearance of Eleven and Sixth. - Deus said mechanically.
And at that moment, their scents hit my nose. I sucked them in, memorising them carefully, looking at the dumbfounded faces of the unveiled men.
- Now I know where you are. - I grinned, lying slightly to scare them more. - And yes, Bakkus, I know where you'll be hiding. And believe me, it won't do you any good. I'll get you, you and everyone else. You wished for my rage without regard for neutrality. Now, be afraid.
With those words, I left the room. Back in the dark room, which was lit only by the moonlight from the window, my gaze met Yuno's, who was looking at me with a strange look. Immediately, the crush I had seen all the time returned to her gaze.
- Akemi, get up. - I said.
- How did it go?
- Fine. I need to go up to the roof, and for you to create a sense amplification for me.
- I understand. - Nodded.
***
Sense amplification... a spell I hadn't given much thought to when I first saw it. Sure, I learnt it, but I don't think I've ever used it in my entire life.
It's all about increasing the senses many times over. Hearing, sight, smell, touch, everything. And given my already very strong natural intelligence, this spell will allow me to smell, if not the entire city, then about two-thirds of it. There's a risk that my brain might burn out from so much information, but I think if I search only for a certain object, I'll be fine. And if it doesn't, it'll hurt until the regeneration kicks in.
- Come on. - I said, exhaling. There was the familiar whistle of a spell and....
A myriad of smells hit my nose. Rats, petrol, dust, pizza, metal, oil, grass, damp, stink, sweat, meat, fire, gas, apples... many, many smells. And then I breathed in the air.
Thousands, millions of odours overshadowed the previous paltry number. With a groan, I fell to the ground as I continued to analyse them. Clamping my eyes tightly shut, I withdrew my vision, so as not to burden my brain even more.
At the same time, I could feel cars travelling below. I felt the vibration of their movement. I could hear a lot of sounds coming from almost everywhere. Talking, squelching, chirping, wind.....
I FOUND IT!
The smell and sound came almost simultaneously. Two kilometres away, in the city hall, just as I thought, were Eleven and Sixth. Along with them, there were two others. Male and female smells. Heh, so that's what Seven smells like, I need to remember that too.
- He's angry. - giggled Six.
- Let him be angry. That way, he'll be less cautious and reveal himself. All we have to do is kill the Second. In case of emergency, we'll hide in Gasai's safe.
- Heh-heh-heh... - Six laughed again.
- Heh-heh-heh... - I repeated with a smirk. - Found it...
***
So, what's the best way to get in there? No, there's plenty of ways, but we need one that will get Yuno to come with us, because if they lock themselves in that safe, we might not be able to kill them without her. Not knowing what kind of metal the doors are made of or how thick they are, it could be a mistake.
I could try asking Akemi to knock the building down with a fire hurricane, but... I don't like that option. I could go inside under invisibility, but I don't know what kind of security measures are in place....
Or maybe I should approach with...
Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by a phone call. The display showed an unknown number, and for a moment I thought about wiretapping and other kinds of surveillance through a mobile phone, but the very idea that a device that could magically see into the future could be tapped led to a heap of scepticism.
- Yes?" I said as I picked up the phone.
- Hello. - I heard a very familiar voice. - First of all, I want to tell you that I had nothing to do with your friend's death. It was Eleven's personal initiative.
Signalling to my men to monitor the surroundings, I returned to the conversation.
- Wow, Six. I thought you two were going to sit around the door to the safe and await my arrival.
- Heh-heh-heh, I'm not surprised that you already know our location. Which is why I'd like to offer you a deal.
- A deal? What kind of deal?
- I help you kill the Eleventh and the Seventh... and you walk off the stage without helping the Second or me. Pretty equal, isn't it?
- It is. - no. It's absolutely not equal. It's a huge benefit to me. If she kills them, then I'm just breaking the pact. It's fine without that, though. Yuno can defeat her on her own, and if not, Akemi will step in. If it's a setup... then nothing will change. - All right. I agree. Do you have a plan?
- Yes. I have half my men guarding the building. And tomorrow, at sundown, 7:00 sharp, they'll attack the Eleventh from the inside and let you through. By then, we'll probably be locked in Gaslight's vault. There, I'll kill Seven and Eleven. You'll come to the door, and I'll try to open it from the inside. The other one will come to me, and we'll work it out. Do you mind?
- Yeah, I don't mind. As soon as the game is over, I'll go back to my home country and we'll never see each other again. Tomorrow at sundown, then?
- Yes. I look forward to seeing you. - Six almost purred.
I pressed 'off' and chuckled, already planning the course of events.
I'll be back home tomorrow...
***
I grinned slightly, looking at the setting sun. My phone clock showed 18:53, and I glanced at my diary.
"19:02. Street. Followers of the cult of the Sixth have begun killing the guards at City Hall."
"19:05. City Hall, ground floor. "Massacre in progress. The guards clearly didn't expect the betrayal."
"19:07. "City Hall, first floor. A guard fired a burst from a machine gun and the bullet hit Yuno's shoulder. Damn, she could die..."
"19:21. City Hall, twenty-fifth floor. It's over quickly, the City Hall guards are completely wiped out. We were surrounded by six cult followers and escorted to the door of Gasai's safe."
"19:23. City Hall, twenty-fifth floor. Yuno walked through the door that opened. There was another one behind her."
"19:25. City Hall, twenty-fifth floor. Shit! Yuno was trapped between two safe doors, and Six let the gas in!"
Ahhhh... that's what her plan is. Hmm, what if... let it go as described? Huh, what conflicting thoughts I'm having....
***
Indeed, when we entered, the followers suffered almost no casualties. As we gradually progressed through the floors, we saw guards lying dead everywhere, but the cultists remained alive and well. On the first floor, a portion of lead whizzed right in front of us, just as it had in the diary, but Yuno was not actually hit.
As the cultists escorted us out, I watched with bated breath as the door closed. A spraying sound was heard... and I abruptly nudged the kagune, killing the surrounding cultists. For the sake of interest, I tried piercing the door, but only a shallow mark was left.
- Hmm... tough. - I assessed it.
***
The door slowly opened, and Six grinned, grabbing the pistol lying next to her. Carefully bypassing the three corpses lying on the floor, the girl approached the lying, pink-haired Yuno Gasai.
- To die in your own family's safe, how ironic..." giggled Six, pointing the gun at the girl.
However, the one who should have been sleeping soundly for a few more hours jumped up with incredible speed, knocking the gun aside and grabbing Six by the throat, lifting her up with one hand.
Tsubaki was stared at by two scarlet eyes burning with hatred. Yuno Gasai's mouth opened, revealing Six's overly long and sharp fangs, which sank into her neck. The scarlet liquid left Six's body in just a few seconds.
Yuno Gasai, who suddenly changed her eye colour, snorted as she walked over the dead body. She walked over to the control panel and in a couple of clicks, caused the first safe door to open. Simultaneously, a small blue smoke came off of Sixth, formed by the self-destruction of her diary.
- Excellent work. - Kaneki, who had walked in with Akemi, praised her.
- It was disgusting, you know. - Yuno snorted.
"BOUGH."
With a pop, the illusions were dispelled and now Yuno was already standing beside Kaneki and Akemi was at the console.
Kaneki's kagune released itself, piercing the hearts of the figures lying on the floor so that there would be no 'sudden revival'. After making sure they were indeed dead, he looked at Yuno... after which he looked at the corpses again.
- The end of the game? - he surmised, but nothing happened. - Erm... Yuno, did we miss someone?
- No..." the girl answered him in surprise.
- But the game doesn't end. I mean, there are at least two more players...
Suddenly, the two of them moved into the meeting room, where Deus, whose mask was covered with numerous small cracks, appeared before them.
- Whew, I thought something was wrong. - Kaneki wiped away imaginary sweat as he stood on Platform Thirteen. The rest of the platforms were empty, except for the second platform Yuno was standing on. On her face, joy slowly blossomed.
- Yes, it really isn't like that. - Deus nodded.
- Um... what?
- You see, young Ghoul... you've noticed this before and come to us with a question... didn't you find it strange that when you killed the First, not only did his diary not react to your intentions, but it remained after his death? Or the fact that all diaries other than his were destroyed when the owner died?
- What are you implying? - Kaneki squinted. - I need to destroy Yukiteru's diary?
- No." grinned Deus. - 'It wasn't my idea, it was my friend's... you don't need to destroy the diary you're holding. Because, it's not Yukiteru's diary.
- ... - it was obvious that Kaneki had had a terrible epiphany.
- You're just as much a player as they are. It was supposed to be like this, and the necessary adjustments weren't made in time. As a result, the observation diary, ended up being split between the First and the Thirteenth. And for someone to become a god, it is necessary to have only one future diary in the world.
- So..." a shadow fell over Kaneki's eyes. - So, originally, I was supposed to kill everyone... then what was the point of this game?
- That miscalculation was discovered after it started. So my friend decided to leave it as it was.
- I see... Then what are the terms of my exit?
- I guess... - Deus thought. - become a god of this world. That's all the conditions.
In the next instant, Kaneki and Yuno found themselves in an empty white space. There was a white floor, completely flat. In addition to it, there was also a white sky, with light pouring out from everywhere.
- Wow... how did it end. - Kaneki grinned tiredly.
Yuno, on the other hand... was in a much more desperate situation. Her plan was to enlist the help of Kaneki, who although looked a lot like her lover, was still not him. She wanted to pretend to love him, and at the end, she would become a god and once again make a loop in time, leaving Thirteen in this, the destroyed world.
When Minene died, she was happier than ever. She realised that now, nothing could stop her plan. But now...
- Yuno... you shouldn't sopo... - Kaneki paused, watching Muru-Muru jump out of the portal, holding a very familiar object. Namely, a short metal pole with three letters on it and a button in the middle.
- Gasai, hold it! - shouted Muru-Muru, throwing the object to the girl.
Immediately, the petite runt grimaced as if under monstrous tension. The sky lightly dawned, Deus wished to throw his assistant out of there, however, she resisted strongly.
Yuno caught the object and immediately pressed the button, following her intuition. Kaneki only hummed.
- You're stupid, Muru-Muru. - He said slowly as he watched the pole turn into a spear, the tip of which was as if made of living flesh. - I don't know how you managed to sneak the kuinke in here, but it takes special training to use it, not....
At that moment, Muru-Muru disappeared into the portal, and Yuno abruptly twirled the spear in one hand as if enchanted. Magic also reeked from her, which instantly clarified the situation.
"Petty gave Yuno powers? Wow, I didn't realise it could be done like that without training... Alright though."
Kagune burst out of Ghoul's back, and the kakuja armour covered her body.
- You don't stand a chance. - Kaneki stated sadly, an RC mask crawling out onto his face.
The two figures abruptly tore at each other. The second one easily dodged one of the Ghoul's tentacles, fending off the rest with her spear. She tried to pierce Kaneki's body with it, but... he simply dodged, grabbing the spear by the shaft and knocking it out of the girl's hands.
A cracking sound was heard, and two broken pieces of kuinke fell to the white floor. The mask was gone from the guy's face, showing the girl two scarlet lights surrounded by black squirrels.
- At least you tried. - Ken hummed cheerfully, walking up to the rising girl and twisting her neck sharply.
At that moment, everything around him rippled, and Kaneki found himself standing in front of Deus.
- You won this battle. And along with the battle, you won the war. - said the giant.
- Yes... I guess so... where's Muru-Muru?
- I put her in a special chamber. She escaped to another world to help the Second for some reason, if you want, you can ask her later. Although I think you already know.
- Yes, I know..." the Ghoul nodded. - Now...
Suddenly, a portal opened next to Deus, and a brunette familiar to both of them appeared.
- Game over! - he proclaimed cheerfully. - So, what will be your last three wishes, after which, you will become a god of this world?
- May I ask you a question? Not as a wish.
- Go ahead.
- Can I give up this world and just go home?
- You want to go home? - the guy grinned. - Once upon a time, I already offered you that....
- You know what I mean. - Kaneki interrupted him unhappily. He was angry that he had to kill Yuno as well.
- As long as this world exists, you can't leave. - The brunet shrugged lightly, looking at Ghoul slyly.
- That's how... then, here are my three wishes!