Kibishi's POV

  I was standing right in front of the enemy. It sure had taken a while, but I was gd that our pn had worked out.

  Fshback

  I raised my index finger.

  "The monster will be fixed on me once you all start attacking it. So that'll give me enough time to strike it," I said softly.

  "How do you know that it won't just head straight for you instead of fighting us?" Jir folded her arms.

  "The monster has intelligence, remember? Logically speaking, it'll figure out that we're buying time," Tao answered Jir's question.

  "Yeah, that's why I'm worried about this pn of yours." Jir pointed at me. "Even if we distract it enough, it'll figure out that we're only the bait while Kibishi strikes when the time is right."

  "That's exactly what I was hoping for. It WILL strike the moment I decide to move against it." I smiled.

  "You wanted it to strike you instead of you striking it down?" Kuma tilted her head while looking a bit confused.

  "... I get it. The monster would account for Kishi striking it. So once we do our part, it'll figure: 'These supernaturals are bait. The concept of death is the real problem.' So, of course, it's expecting Kibishi to attack when an opening is there." Tao pced her hand under her chin.

  "But we don't know if it'll do that, though..." Riley spoke her worry.

  "Yeah, for all we know, it might be strong enough to kill you, man..." David spoke in a worried way.

  "It's a gamble I'm willing to take. Plus, remembering the three-strike method, I'm sure it will be certain once I disappeared from its sight." I pced my hand on Tao's shoulder. "Tao will be the 'Kibishi' that will wait until you guys distract it enough. And once she's out of its sight...."

  "... The rest will be our victory!" Riley whispered while pumping her fists into the air.

  "Okay, that seems simple enough. A bit reckless, and not to mention, a bit of a gamble, since chances are the monster will see through this type of pn." Jir muttered loud enough for all of us to hear.

  "Okay, let's say all of us did distract it enough, and Tao somehow fooled it. What about you? Wouldn't it find it strange that Tao didn't attack it with us?" Kuma pced her hands in her jacket.

  "Not if I stay behind to 'protect' him. Well, I will always protect him, but that's not the point." Tao looked at me with a warm smile. "I'm sure that after Kishi, being the main focus, gets into its mind, it'll do whatever it takes to get to him. And since it'll be focused on you all and will think of us as 'bait', it won't recognize that I disappeared from its sight."

  "Right," I nodded.

  "... Hmm. Still a bit risky, though..." Jir muttered.

  "Trust me, I know. Once this starts, who knows how it'll py out. But we still need to try." I slowly walked forward and pced my hand on Jir's shoulders. "Jir, please trust me on this one. Please..."

  Jir stared into my eyes as I stared into hers.

  What Jir was saying was true and logical. This pn was based on the fact that it would be solely focused on me. If it was smart enough to figure that I'm dangerous, then it was smart enough to figure out the rocky pn of mine.

  It wasn't guaranteed, and I might get us all killed with it.

  But it was still worth a shot. And I wouldn't let anyone die on my behalf. So once everything fell into pce, I would make sure it died by my hands.

  I slowly took out the knife and stared at my reflection in it.

  I was the holder of the concept of death itself. So I shouldn't have any problem with this. It might have some aftermath effects like these frostbites, but who cared about that. All that mattered was that we beat this thing once and for all. And of course, it would fight back once it saw me, despite being surprised if the pn worked in our favor.

  So...

  "Jir. I also want you to turn off my nerves once more, alongside my heart, for 5 seconds..."

  "What?!" Jir leaned forward in shock.

  "Dude! Are you hearing yourself?!" David pulled me away from Jir and turned me around to hold onto my shirt. "Turning off your heart is like you're BEGGING to die prematurely! Whatever pn you've got, it won't matter if you're dead!"

  "... I know," I nodded in agreement.

  "And if you're dead, then you won't be able to come home with us even IF you manage to strike it!" It was Riley's turn to hold onto my shirt.

  "I'm aware," I nodded once more.

  "And you STILL want Kujira to do that?!" David yelled at me, and rightfully so. What I was asking was so stupid and would most likely fail.

  Concept or not, once you die, you can't come back.

  ...But I wanted to think that I could cheat death.

  "... In that case, why don't you bring me back to life, Riley?" I slowly made Riley's hands get off of my shirt and dusted myself off.

  "How could you—?!"

  "Shocking someone's chest should work, right? Seen it in those TV shows..." I muttered while walking forward, interrupting Riley.

  "That's only on TV, you dumbass!" David barked.

  "Kishi!" Tao suddenly grabbed hold of both of my shoulders.

  "What is it?"

  "..." Tao opened her mouth but closed it shut.

  Her eyes were shocked, her body quivered in fear. Fear of losing me. Fear of losing one of her best friends. I, too, was also scared. But we didn't have much time...

  "I'm sorry, but—"

  "Me too!" Tao shouted at me.

  "Huh?" I blinked.

  "I don't want you to die either! There's a better way to handle things other than having you die JUST for the sake of the human race—ah!" Tao realized what she said and slowly backed away in shame.

  "Just... just having your heart stop won't help anyone. It wouldn't work. So... so why don't we...?" Tao slowly lifted up my hands. "Why don't we just put our lives on the line instead? At least that way...". Tao squeezed my hand softly. "...That way, we can all say that we tried, right?" Tao whispered.

  Put all of our lives on the line, huh?

  Frankly speaking, that was what we had been doing the whole time. This statement Tao was saying didn't really make any sense. If anything, it seemed more like an excuse.

  An excuse, indeed.

  But...

  ... I was willing to buy the excuse if it would calm her fast heart...

  Also, I just realized that David and Riley cared enough to stop me if I went through with the heart-stop thing. I COULD have increased my power by a whole lot. But at the same time, it might not be worth it to them if I ended up dead in the end...

  ...While I didn't mind dying, it seemed like my friends won me over with the logic of not just killing the monster.

  With a quiet sigh, I rethought my statement from before.

  Fine then, I wouldn't let Jir stop my heart.

  I turned my head to Jir.

  "Crank it up by ten, and I won't go with the pn of stopping my heart. Stopping my nerves, I mean."

  "I wasn't going to do it anyway. That was too stupid, even for me..." Jir scratched her head, her mouth showing a frown.

  "... Figured," I sighed once more and scratched my head.

  "What's with you and that head of yours?" Kuma flicked my forehead.

  It hurt, but it seemed like I deserved it.

  I was pretty sure I was broken in many ways. My mind, heart, and soul didn't make me normal. I sometimes thought OUTSIDE the box. And sometimes, I said something stupid.

  So stupid that even my friends questioned my actions.

  Where did the logic go? Well, it burned down the moment my family and town got burned alive thanks to these creatures and monsters.

  The Kibishi from before had died and was reborn into someone like me.

  But putting that aside, we had a solid pn.

  So, as long as it didn't detect me, it was all the same.

  "... Guys, look." Tao pointed at the monster, which had been quiet the whole time.

  I was about to ask, "Why didn't it attack us?", but remembering it now, it would rather be cautious and wait for us than attack.

  Which... was kinda strange, since us talking here, it would've been the right moment to strike.

  Then again, it might've blown up in its face, and it would rather not have that. Either way, it worked in our favor.

  "It's probably thinking of a pn like us. After all, it put distance between us..." Kuma replied to Tao.

  "Well, it kinda worked in our favor." Riley grinned.

  "Works for me, too," David folded his arms.

  "With that out of the way, let's get started. Jir." I turned my head to Jir.

  "..." Jir stared at me and then held her head. "... You're insane..."

  It seemed like Jir wanted to say more, but kept her mouth shut. She slowly reached with her palms and gently rested them on my chest. Her hand was hesitant, and she slowly walked up closer.

  "You know, your way of thinking scares even me. It scares everyone. Almost as if... you don't value your own life." Jir whispered.

  I had never seen that expression before. Jir looked genuinely concerned. No bad mouthing. No scolding. Not even a cold look. Just... sadness in her eyes.

  Had I messed up?

  "So..." Jir looked annoyed. "I'll make sure you'll feel the worst pain possible once your nerves finally crash on you and make you rethink the choices you made today, IDIOT!"

  Whoosh!

  "Ggrrhhh!!!"

  I felt my body shake so hard that it felt like someone was emptying my insides and throwing my organs out onto the floor.

  The pain was so sharp, so uncomfortable, that I started to think that this was Jir's way of saying: "Don't die. Please make it back alive."

  That.

  Or she wanted to make sure that even if I made it back alive, there were more painful things coming my way, and it wasn't JUST my nerves crashing down on me like I was on drugs.

  But.

  I supposed that was her way of showing that she cared about me.

  And I found that part of her sweet....

  Present

  Fast forward to the current situation.

  The monster and I were facing each other. I couldn't feel anything again, so whatever it gave me, I wouldn't feel a thing.

  I just hoped I could beat it before it was too te.