Chapter 64:

Cost

I’m Taking Revenge for My Murdered Classmates Using Weapons Made from Their Souls


I heard a tremendous explosion behind me, and a blazing pillar and streak of lightning flashed across the sky.

The giant mushroom cloud kicked up vast amounts of sand, and the billowing heat destroyed everything in the area instantaneously.

So Charlotte had been using a fake body after all.

The first time I suspected something was amiss was when I saw the footage of Shizuka’s final moments.


Shizuka had transformed into a zombie after being attacked by Hironobu and Saburo.

Normally, Charlotte would’ve been their next victim; yet, none of them showed any signs of attacking her. They simply wandered around as though she wasn’t there.

Zombies don’t attack their own kind.

That meant Charlotte was already dead to begin with. Her body was nothing but a remote-controlled dummy.

I came to the conclusion that the real Charlotte was among us. She must have swapped places with someone else when we first got dragged to this planet.

“Charlotte!”

Remembering all that triggered another bout of rage, adding more fuel to “Shizuka.”

Don’t worry, Shizuka. I’ll shoot as many times as I need to to make up for the times you couldn’t.


The castle stood right before my eyes.

I erased the gravity around me using my red cape, “Shoko,” and flew towards it.

Shoko had transported me countless times. I remembered how she always held me from behind a little gingerly. If it hadn’t been for her, we’d probably all have died a lot sooner.

When we last flew together, Shoko hugged me hard, which she’d never done before.

“I’ll see you later, mkay?”

That was the last time I ever saw her alive.


I landed softly on the castle turret, which still had the telescope that I’d shot with “Yayoi” and dried blood splatters.

It’d been three years. I’d finally returned to the castle I was banished from. Nothing seemed changed.

Charlotte was most likely in the underground lab.

(Just you wait...this time, I’ll kill you...for...)

My head spun abruptly, and I sank to the ground.

I’d used my skills too recklessly. At this rate, I’d die before I got my revenge.

Not yet. I’d come this far; It couldn’t end here, not like this.

I draped my cape around me and shut my eyes. “Shoko” was made out of a light and airy fabric similar to a bird’s feather, and I fought the urge to fall asleep.

I had to recover with minimal rest. It was too dangerous to doze off on enemy territory.


Just then, I heard static in my head.

This had happened before. Unfamiliar images flooded my mind as the static began to clear.

“Ahem. Testing, testing, one-two-three. Do you copy? Itsuko here.”

“This is Shoko. Mirai’s not with us today.”

“With or without Mirai, it’s still us, Uzattoki.”

When did they send this? They couldn’t have used their skills without Mirai. Given that she was reluctant to make an appearance, it was most likely after Shizuka’s death.

Mirai had blamed herself for asking Charlotte to help us, and she’d been silent and withdrawn for a while after that incident.

“I know things may be rough, but don’t be too hell-bent on revenge.”

“I want you to think about what you’ll do when this is all over.”

When this is over?

I hadn’t even considered it. Everything ends once I kill Charlotte.

“I want you to be able to smile when it’s over.”

“As the sole living witness to our lives.”

White noise filled my ears again, and the scene faded out.


“Sorry. I can’t.”

I gripped my cape tightly and checked the message on my phone.


“Student number 2 (male), Ryo Izumi.”

“Skill: Ability to turn dead classmates’ souls into weapons.”

“Cost: Your lifespan will be shortened each time you activate a skill. Time remaining: 36 hours.”


The end was almost in sight.