015 – Nothing More Thrilling Than Talking Big and Running Away

Souta sighed.

"Well… I tried."

Turning to Kurumi, he simply said—

"I'll leave this to you."

Kurumi grinned, an amused sparkle in her heterochromatic eyes.

"Of course, Souta-kun."

"Now, let me handle this."

With a graceful motion,

Kurumi lifted her hood, revealing her astonishingly beautiful face.

The rushing alchemists immediately froze in place,

Their expressions shifting from anger to utter infatuation.

Before them stood a girl of impossible beauty,

With porcelain skin, ruby-red lips,

And a smile that was both charming and dangerous.

At that moment—

Many of the alchemists began having second thoughts.

"If we have to capture her… then maybe I should be the one to interrogate her…"

"Yeah… she should be handled gently… by me."

"We could question her… but also treat her like a guest…"

Kurumi, noticing their hungry expressions,

Merely laughed softly, her voice carrying a hint of mockery.

Then, with a simple flick of her wrist,

An invisible force spread through the room.

The lamplight flickered,

The air grew heavy,

A dark presence filled the chamber.

And then—

The alchemists suddenly realized something terrifying.

They couldn't move.

Their bodies refused to obey.

Their faces twisted in shock—

Their limbs frozen in place.

Their eyes darted wildly—

Filled with pure, paralyzing fear.

Kurumi's smile widened.

"Now then… gentlemen."

"Shall we begin?"

A Heavy, Oppressive Force Filled the Room.

A strange presence spread through the space, making the entire ship feel distorted—

A peculiar phenomenon had taken hold.

"City of Devouring Time."

This was Tokisaki Kurumi's domain—

A time-manipulating barrier that forcibly drains the lifespan of anyone caught within its range.

And—

It also rendered the bodies of its victims incredibly heavy, making it impossible to move.

"Ugh..."

Souta felt his head spin.

Even he was affected by the barrier.

Kurumi quickly noticed this—

With a graceful flick of her hand, she adjusted the barrier's parameters,

Canceling out its effects on Souta alone.

But at that exact moment—

"No!"

Souta's gaze snapped toward Maiza,

Just in time to see—

The bottle in his trembling hands wobbling dangerously.

The precious Elixir of Immortality was on the verge of spilling!

Without hesitation, Souta rushed forward and snatched the bottle away—

Holding it tightly against his chest.

Only after securing the bottle did he breathe a sigh of relief.

That was way too close.

Meanwhile—

Maiza, still trapped within the barrier,

Could only glare at him furiously.

His jaw clenched,

His body too weak to even speak properly.

And around them—

Several alchemists had already collapsed under the barrier's effects.

Souta clicked his tongue and sighed.

"Tsk. Why'd you all have to make us resort to violence?"

"Wouldn't it have been easier if we just sat down together and shared a drink?"

A cocky smirk spread across his lips.

He was really enjoying this moment.

There was something oddly satisfying about taunting people who couldn't do anything back.

It was like getting the last word in an argument and then walking away victorious.

But when he glanced down at the bottle in his hands—

His expression stiffened.

Because up close—

It really did look like a chamber pot.

"Ugh... The things I do for immortality."

Gritting his teeth, Souta forced himself to chug down several gulps of the Elixir.

He drank about a cup's worth in total.

That was more than enough.

Even a single sip granted eternal life.

And just as he was lowering the bottle—

A deep, chilling voice suddenly echoed through the room.

"Oh?"

"So an unnatural being has entered the fray?"

The demon's voice rumbled like thunder—

Its tone carrying a strange amusement.

"I sense it… the power to devour time…"

"Hahahaha… how fascinating!"

"A creature masquerading as a human girl…"

"Interesting… VERY interesting."

At those words—

Souta's entire body stiffened.

A chill ran down his spine.

"Shit."

The demon had taken an interest in Kurumi.

And that was BAD NEWS.

No one knew the true extent of the demon's power.

It could be stronger than Kurumi—

Or weaker.

But either way,

Now that Souta had obtained the Elixir,

There was absolutely no reason to stick around and find out.

"Kurumi! We need to GO!"

But—

It was already too late.

The air around them suddenly shifted—

It thickened, became dense.

It coiled around the room,

Moving like invisible ropes—

Closing in on Kurumi.

The demon wasn't physically present.

But its will alone was enough to manipulate reality.

"Ah~? You're underestimating me quite a bit, aren't you?"

Kurumi's gold and crimson eyes gleamed with mischief.

Even as the air itself moved to restrain her,

She didn't panic—

She simply smiled.

The next moment—

A powerful surge of spirit energy erupted from her body—

Like a hammer slamming into glass,

It shattered the surrounding air pressure in an instant.

BOOM!

The entire space trembled violently.

The sensation was eerily similar to a spatial quake.

And for the first time—

The demon's voice quivered with excitement.

"INTERESTING! VERY INTERESTING!"

It was excited.

Like a scientist observing a fascinating experiment.

The shaking stopped—

But instead of returning to normal,

The entire space began to solidify.

Souta felt a crushing weight press down on his body.

The air itself felt like it had turned into solid steel.

He had never felt anything this suffocating before.

"Shit… this thing can manipulate SPACE!?"

"This is BAD—!"

But just as the pressure reached its peak—

Souta forced his body forward.

He ignored the crushing weight,

And lunged toward Kurumi.

"KURUMI!"

Kurumi whipped around,

Their eyes met,

And in an instant—

She understood his intention.

Without hesitation,

She abandoned her counterattack,

And instead—

She struck the space between them with her power.

A shockwave blasted through the room—

Disrupting the demon's influence.

For just a split second,

The pressure lifted.

And that was all the time Souta needed.

He threw himself at Kurumi,

Wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.

Their bodies pressed together—

A warmth amidst the cold, suffocating space.

Then—

"SYSTEM! RETURN!"

A brilliant white light erupted from his phone.

It engulfed them instantly—

Ignoring the spatial restraints,

And teleporting them away in an instant.

As the light faded,

They vanished completely from that world.

And left the demon behind.

- - - Reality - - -

As soon as Souta felt solid ground beneath his feet, he opened his eyes and saw the familiar living room.

He exhaled in relief.

"Whew… That was close."

Souta released Kurumi from his grasp.

The tension from their escape had left his throat dry.

So he headed to the kitchen, poured two glasses of water, and returned to Kurumi.

He then drank one glass…

…And immediately drank the second one too.

"..."

Kurumi had assumed the second glass was for her.

But before the situation could become awkward, she changed the subject.

"That demon… was quite something."

Souta nodded, setting the empty glasses down.

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's a being that can just casually hand out immortality. Of course, it's not normal."

"But—"

He smirked.

"It doesn't matter whether that demon was stronger than you or not.

We're done with that world."

Souta leaned back, stretching.

"That thing is stuck in the world of Baccano! just like the Magic Gods are stuck in A Certain Magical Index."

"There's no way it can follow us into the real world."

Souta was fairly certain about this.

Interdimensional travel wasn't easy.

Even cosmic-level beings were often bound to their own dimensions.

That demon was no exception.

However—

His tone shifted slightly.

"That said… it's a shame."

He sighed.

"I didn't expect the demon to interfere. You never got to drink the Elixir yourself."

Kurumi, however, simply shook her head.

She didn't seem bothered at all.

Instead, she gave Souta a curious look.

"Souta… You're immortal now, right?"

She tilted her head, watching him with genuine interest.

"Do you… feel any different?"

Souta shook his head.

"Nope. No difference at all."

"Guess I'll have to test it out."

With that, he stood up and walked back to the kitchen.

This time, he didn't return with water.

Instead—

He came back holding a kitchen knife.

"The Elixir of Immortality works by 'locking' a person's physical state at the moment they drink it.

Even if I get injured, my body will automatically revert to how it was the instant I drank the Elixir."

"The only way to kill an immortal is if another immortal places their right hand on their head and wills them to be absorbed.

That's the one and only weakness."

As he spoke, Souta gripped the knife and positioned it over his left hand.

He hesitated for a moment, then turned to Kurumi.

"You wanna do it?"

Kurumi's eyes widened slightly.

"You… You're actually serious?"

Souta nodded.

"I need to be sure my body is actually immortal. Otherwise, I wouldn't feel comfortable letting you absorb my time later."

He offered the knife to Kurumi.

But she immediately shook her head.

"Absolutely not!"

She refused outright.

Cutting off her friend's hand was a line she simply wouldn't cross.

At most, she'd just watch.