Not a detective

Page 128

Regardless, all the students here were saved, but the girl who trusted him disappeared, and Asakawa Riku refused to accept this future.

He didn't know where he went wrong. He had done everything according to the most reasonable plan, but unexpected situations always kept happening, disrupting everything.

Just as he was feeling irritable with a gloomy face, some clueless guy suddenly stood up from the crowd.

The man pointed his chin at Asakawa Riku and said contemptuously:

"You despicable outsider, all you know is sneak attacks! If you have the guts, let me go and fight you! I'll protect our village!"

Summer of the Crimson Ray: Chapter Twenty-Six Out of Control

Asakawa Riku looked up and realized he recognized the person.

His name is Miyazaki Tatsuno.

He was a male student, about 1.75 meters tall. Although he wasn't as big as Mr. Matsuyama, he was still strong and muscular.

He had a spiky hairstyle that looked very stiff, a long face, cut-off eyebrows, and a disdainful and unruly look in his eyes.

At first glance, he looks a bit like Hirata Hirokichi, but compared to him, Hirokichi looks like a good student who could get into the University of Tokyo.

"Do you have any opinion?"

Asakawa Riku asked calmly.

"Huh...? Of course I am." Miyazaki Tatsuno clicked his tongue, spittle flying everywhere. "I'm going to beat you to a pulp and show you how arrogant this outsider can be!"

Yes, this guy is a delinquent.

Asakawa Riku is not good at remembering other people's names, especially those from other classes, but he knows Miyazaki Tatsuno from Class F very well.

Because this guy supposedly has a triad background, they forced him into this public school with a very high deviation score. He skips classes and messes around every day, is good for nothing, and even sleeps soundly in class. He completely ignores the admonitions of teachers and instructors, treating them all as if they were nothing. He is also surrounded by a large group of bad friends and is the biggest troublemaker in the grade.

Asakawa Riku observed this guy because he was worried that the guy would cause trouble at school and disrupt his peaceful study life.

After observing him for a year, it was discovered that Miyazaki Tatsuno was not like the previous delinquent group that bullied other students. This guy was just doing his own thing and didn't listen to discipline. He didn't cause any harm to others. So, after this year, Asakawa Riku stopped monitoring him. As for whether he wanted to study or not, that was not something Asakawa Riku could interfere with.

Unexpectedly, their first conflict would occur on this island under these circumstances.

"Let me go, you bastard! I'll show you the terror of my fists...! You coward, dare to try me!"

Miyazaki Tatsuno continued shouting, a string of profanities escaping his lips.

"Alright, alright, I am the village chief now, I order you to sit down."

Asakawa Riku was somewhat helpless. He glanced at him briefly and figured this guy's strength was probably not even as good as Matsuyama-sensei's...

He was about to tell the guy to shut up when suddenly something unusual happened in the crowd.

"Yes, let us go!"

"Outsiders! What kind of nonsense is this, binding us like this? We are Lord Red Ray's most valiant warriors!"

"Let's fight to the death! If you have the guts, kill us all!"

Other students stood up.

Asakawa Riku knew at a glance that they were the same delinquents who usually hung out with Miyazaki Tatsuno, and now they were standing next to their boss.

It seems that brainwashing cannot completely erase all memories; however, subconscious feelings of closeness and friendship might be preserved...

Asakawa Riku could have handled this small group, but then more incidents occurred like a series of explosions.

"Even though I've devoured everything, I still feel hungry."

Village chief Kato Mio began to chant.

Asakawa Riku suddenly looked at the girl, but she was not afraid of Asakawa Riku's fierce and terrifying gaze. She stretched her neck and gritted her teeth to continue singing.

—Just like dominoes, they keep falling down.

"The gap is only wide enough for one person to pass through, while you are soaring through the air."

It was already night, and the sky was dark, with only the torches prepared for the festival providing light.

Now, the elders and villagers followed the village chief, Kato Mio, and began the ceremony's singing.

"Whenever I look up, I always think of you."

"Shut up, stop singing!!" Asakawa Riku roared, trying to interrupt the voices of these people, but he couldn't drown out the huge resonance of hundreds of people.

At this moment, Miyazaki Tatsuno and his companions, who were standing there, became warriors guarding the village, and the villagers prayed for them in this traditional way.

Like a battle song, they rose and made way for him.

Miyazaki Tatsuno and his men strode in menacingly—

"To conceal his hunched posture, he simply lay prone on the ground."

Asakawa Riku suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

Yes, the ceremonial songs were sung this time, but things may not be as bad as they seem.

He guessed that the Red Stingray Festival ritual consisted of two parts: "songs" and "dances," but at this moment their hands were tied, so they could only sing but not move, which meant the ritual could not be completed. The villagers had not yet entered a frenzied state, and Asakawa Riku could sense from the level of threat that they had not yet reached that state of soaring combat power.

—Then there's nothing to be afraid of.

"Drink up all the jealousy, love, hatred, and words in one gulp."

"Because I wanted to explore the meaning within that swollen body."

Despite this, the loud noise still gave Asakawa Riku a headache. He should have just gagged them all; then there wouldn't have been so much trouble!

"...Okay, you like to sing, huh? Let me see how bold you are."

His violent impulse reached its limit, and he rushed forward, grabbed Miyazaki Tatsuno by the neck, and slammed him to the ground!

Suddenly, the rhythm in the crowd seemed to falter for a moment, and a discordant pause appeared.

"Never mind me! Keep going! I want to see just how capable this outsider really is!"

Asakawa Riku held back, but this guy was still ungrateful, rolling and struggling on the ground, trying to attack him with kicks and headbutts.

Inspired by this "brave warrior" and "village-defending hero," the villagers' morale suddenly surged.

"Ahhhh!"

His henchmen also charged forward, twisting their bodies like bulls.

"Transform into the sea."

"The sunlight is dazzling, and the shimmering, transparent seaside is like my skin."

"It's not just sadness."

"I swallowed the sand, and closed my eyes—"

The villagers' chanting reached its peak.

With a splitting headache, Asakawa Riku finally couldn't take it anymore.

"enough!"

He roared and swung his fist at Miyazaki Tatsuno, who was lying on the ground—

Kill the chicken to scare the monkey.

Yes, the only remaining method is to make an example of someone.

If we don't really kill one of them, these fanatical cultists will never calm down. We must make them see real blood and feel real fear.

We have to get them under control; there's no other way!

...Sure enough, the sound stopped, just as he had hoped.

No villagers dared to sing anymore; their mouths were agape, but no sound came out.

Asakawa Riku punched Miyazaki Tatsuno, shattering his skull like a watermelon. Blood and unidentified liquid splattered all over the ground and onto many people's faces.

The island was silent... only the boy who had committed the cruel act remained, slowly standing up.

Summer of the Crimson Ray: Chapter Twenty-Seven - One More Time

The cool night sea breeze blew against Asakawa Riku's back, making him shiver involuntarily.

He looked at his hands and realized what he had done.

...He wasn't inexperienced in killing people.

But killing his own classmate was a first for him.

The village was now stained with blood, littered with corpses and severed limbs.

How many have you killed?

What's wrong with me?

The few dozen surviving students who looked at him now knew he was quiet and well-behaved; no one dared to sing anymore.

That was the look in the eyes of someone looking at a devil, the look in the eyes of someone looking at a murderer.

Suppressed sobs could be heard.

Asakawa Riku looked at Miyazaki Tatsuno on the ground, his body a pitiful sight, his neck and above completely gone, shattered by his heavy punch.

The other students were all dying tragically one by one at the hands of the crazed demon.

If he was forced to defend himself during the last Red Stingray Festival and had no choice but to hurt these classmates, it was because he would die if he didn't fight.

This time, however, it was a complete mistake. These villagers hadn't yet gone into a fanatical state and didn't even have the ability to resist.

...How could a seasoned martial artist possibly fail to control his strength?

wrong.

Asakawa Riku remained silent and walked forward.

Stepping over one corpse after another, the nauseating sensation underfoot remains vivid in my memory.

wrong.

The surrounding villagers had contorted expressions and let out extremely suppressed screams, but no one dared to make a sound. They just kept moving away.

"……sorry."

Finally, he said something softly.

Walk towards the shore on the beach.

Until the seawater reached above my calves.

No, this approach is wrong. He shouldn't kill people he shouldn't have. He should start over.

Asakawa Riku remembered the matter of "time reversal".

Although he couldn't be 100% certain of the existence of reincarnation, he wanted to take the gamble.

If we could return to the ship at that moment, we would have more complete information and intelligence, and be able to make a more perfect response.

He could directly locate Xingyu and have her disarm the bomb, and he could also control the crew in advance to prevent them from manually detonating it...

In this way, we can achieve the perfect ending we envision.

"Again."

Even that book can be found; then it won't just be a single page of waste paper.

With this determination, Asakawa Riku walked into the boundless sea until his body was completely submerged.

...

...

...

The next second, Asakawa Riku woke up on the beach.

Wait... why is it on the beach?

He felt instantly lost, looking around helplessly. Whenever this happened, he felt as if he had experienced a distortion of time and space, making it difficult to find his footing.

Did he trigger the [time reversal], or not?

Asakawa Riku gazed at the boundless sea behind him, the midday sun blazing overhead, and he remained shirtless.