Published at 26th of March 2019 12:07 am

Volume 5, Part 1

I was never supposed to encounter 'O'. I'm a completely ordinary person who can't even fulfill his own wishes, let alone someone else's.

The supernatural being before me is only interested in Kazu. In his (or her) eyes, I'm just a human who's close to Kazu. I was only able to obtain this power because he (she) is trying to interfere with Kazu by influencing his environment.

Clinging to the 'box' I received so arbitrarily, I'm like a beggar frantically rifling through a garbage bin, desperate to find just enough food to get by.

Even so, I've decided to rely on this 'box'.

'O' watches me with a charming smile on his (her) face.

"'O', there's something that I fail to understand. I admit that Kazu is someone special. I also get why you would want to observe him. I just don't get why a superior being would care so much about a single human."

"What makes you wonder?"

"Well, I think your actions are strange for a being of such power. Simply by singling Kazu out, tailing him, revealing your intentions, you're lowering yourself to the level of a mere human."

"Is there a problem with that? Worship is of no consequence to me, so I'm fine with interacting with Kazuki-kun this way. First off, just by appearing before you and conversing like this, I inevitably lose some of my distance from humanity."

"What do you mean?"

"If I wanted to remain transcendental, I could easily display my power without saying a single word. After all, the mere act of making my reasons and intentions clear renders me less remote. Every word I speak brings me closer to the normal world."

After giving me this explanation, 'O' asks me softly:

"I wonder: do you wish I were supernatural? Perhaps you fear that your 'box' might lose its powers if the nature of the entity that grants your wish turns out to be such a cheap trick? If so, I'm sorry that I'm not what you're looking for."

"Then what are you? If you're not a god, what else could you be?"

With no hesitation whatsoever, 'O' tells me what he (she) is:

"A direction called 'O'."

I fail to comprehend his (her) straightforward answer.

"A direction? What are you talking about?"

"You've only come in contact with a small part of my entire being. 'O' refers to a fraction of the giant entity that 'I' am."

Hearing about an 'O' who's not 'O' all of a sudden leaves me bewildered.

"...Does that mean that you're like the arms and legs on a human body?"

"Not quite. Hm... let's take a large pool as an example. Pretend that the water is 'me'. Now take a cup and scoop some of the water into it. That's 'O'. The cup that's used to shape me is the direction known as 'O'."

"...What do you mean by direction?"

"As the giant being, 'I' do not have a will per se. Well, strictly speaking, 'I' do have a will, but you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Therefore, 'I' did not originally have a vector. But once some part of the being takes on the name 'O', that part also takes on a special meaning. It's only natural that this creates a 'direction'."

"So that 'direction' is the reason you devote yourself to Kazu?"

"Exactly. I knew you'd be quick on the uptake."

This wasn't praise - 'O' was clearly mocking me.

'O' continues making fun of me:

"But because you're so quick on the uptake, you cannot control your 'box'."

I bite my lip. While I'm aware of my own shortcomings, having 'O' point them out so bluntly is hard to swallow.

"You are unable to perceive the 'box' as the 'box' that it is. In order to make it something that you can understand, you distort it through your own filter. What you think a 'box' is, is in fact something completely different. Ah, one more thing! You seem to think that I'm not interested in you at all, but you're mistaken. In contrast to Kazuki-kun, who has the ability to fully utilize a 'box', you fall short to a ridiculous extent. In a certain way, that makes you a very interesting fellow, too," 'O' says with another charming smile. "I'm sure that you'll be the first to understand my true nature."

Shut up already!

If 'O' keeps giving me hints, I might be able to deduce who he (she) really is.

Sure, 'O' can change his (or her) appearance at will. I have no idea what he (she) really looks like. I don't even know if 'O' is male or female.

But I do have a talent for seeing through deception and getting to the true nature of things. I've got too much brainpower in that area.

If I fully understand 'O', I will render myself unable to believe in the supernatural powers of my 'box'. I am only able to use those special powers because 'O' is a mysterious entity.

Therefore, I won't distort 'O' with my interpretations.

I will admire and worship him.

By keeping my gaze averted from reality, I'll fulfill my wish.

◆◆◆ Daiya Oomine - 09/06 SUN 12:05 ◆◆◆

"I was really shocked, yes. ...Yes. Yes. Of course I had heard of the 'Dog Humans,' but you know, I dismissed it as one of those things on TV. I never dreamed that a 'Dog Human' would show up in my own backyard!"

The LCD television is showing a woman whose face is obscured by a mosaic. The middle-aged housewife's voice has been electronically distorted, but her disgusted tone comes through loud and clear.

"What kind of person was X (name erased by an artificial sound)?"

"Mh... pretty normal, in fact. But he was definitely very quiet. When you greeted him, he would always mumble so quietly that you couldn't tell if he was answering or not!"

"Has he done anything that caught your attention?"

"...Well, yes. Lately, or rather, when his parents disappeared... what do they call those people? Shut-ins? I think he secluded himself at home. What he did for a living? ...Who knows? I have no idea."

"Could you elaborate on the disappearance of his parents?"

"Yes. ...Ah, but I should mention that his parents might have moved away without him. I just heard a rumor that they disappeared. I don't know any details. X was never on good terms with his neighbors."

"I see... Do you know what trait all the 'Dog Humans' share?"

The middle-aged woman is clearly taken aback.

"...Yes. They're all criminals, right? And their crimes tend to be rather serious."

"X's criminal record is unknown at this point, but do you..."

"I merely spotted X on all fours barking, that's all. I'm afraid I have nothing more to—"

The middle-aged woman probably ran out of useful information: the camera cut back to the studio and zoomed in on the moderator and a few commentators.

No one seemed to know whether to discuss this phenomenon in a serious or a joking manner. The participants' awkward attempts at commenting on this utterly mysterious incident were just ambiguous nonsense.

I shift my position on my bed and smile scornfully.

Just as I planned, the variety shows have started to cover the "Dog Humans" every day.

When a person suddenly loses his ability to speak and starts crawling about on all fours for no explicable reason - that's the "Dog Human" phenomenon. No variety show would want to miss out on such a sensational topic.

But no matter how much attention the topic gets, the underlying cause won't come to light. Many doctors and scientists are trying to get to the bottom of the "Dog Human" phenomenon, but regardless of their approach, they'll never discover that a 'box' is the cause.

Thus, the commentators inevitably disappoint the audience with trite conclusions like "they are just acting" or "they talk themselves into believing that they are dogs" or "it's a mental illness." Even the fishy psychic, who was probably added to the panel just for laughs, managed to do more for the audience by saying that "God has inflicted this on us as a trial for the conceited human race, in order to teach us that we are merely animals."

Heh.

That's such bullsh*t.

If you're discussing "conceitedness," then the idea that God would bother to put us on trial is far more conceited. I mean, do humans care if vermin are conceited?

Only a human could come up with something as absurd as creating "Dog Humans."

Just as I turned back to the TV, the moderator concluded today's "Dog Human" special report with some empty words.

"We hope with all our hearts that he will recover soon."

"We hope he will recover soon," huh?

The moderator won't be able to say that for much longer.

"X" aka "Katsuya Tamura" is really a criminal who has killed his parents - but his criminal acts are concealed from the public for now. Once his actions are revealed, that moderator won't be able to casually wish for his recovery anymore.

Right now, only Katsuya Tamura and I know about his crimes, but before long, everyone else will find out.

Public opinion can't ignore the fact that every "Dog Human" so far has turned out to be a felon, and the police can't ignore public opinion. So, the police will find some pretext to investigate, and will soon discover the bones of Katsuya Tamura's parents in his garden.

And then Katsuya Tamura will go where he belongs: to prison. No... perhaps he'll be sent elsewhere because of his mental problems, but that's besides the point. My goal isn't to punish criminals who would otherwise remain at liberty.

If the Katsuya Tamura incident goes according to plan... then I won't have to make any more preparations. The power of my 'box' can actually make anyone into a "Dog Human" - I deliberately use my power to find people who have committed crimes and only transform those criminals.

I do so in order to force public perception to equate "Dog Human" with "criminal."

"A mutt on four legs is a criminal."

Once that association spreads, "Dog Humans" will automatically be treated as lawbreakers.

What will be the consequences of my experiment in social engineering?

Being a "Dog Human" is as miserable as it gets. Everyone is disgusted by the sight of "Dog Humans" losing their senses, crawling naked on the ground, and barking. No one will pity them since they're not considered human anymore-especially because everyone will believe all "Dog Humans" are criminal scum.

Everyone will fear becoming a "Dog Human."

The public will realize that committing crimes might turn them into "Dog Humans." But without knowing exactly what causes the transformation, people will have no choice but to avoid criminal activity, and live perfectly innocent lives in order to avoid becoming the target of public scorn.

This will put a stop to crime.

Of course the absolute number of "Dog Humans" is totally insufficient. It is necessary to make people believe that criminals become "Dog Humans" with a probability bordering on certainty. In order to accomplish this, I will need to create more "Dog Humans" - legions of them.

Once my task is done, no one will be able to ignore this phenomenon anymore.

I focus on the TV once again.

The topic has changed and a new video has appeared on the screen. Some pedestrian probably used his smart phone to record it: the picture is blurry and the surprised voice of the video-taker can be heard in the background.

I can see the main street of the Kabukichou district in Shinjuku, where dozens of adult men and women have thrown themselves to the ground.

It's impossible to determine what kind of group they belong to at first glance because the men and women seem to have absolutely nothing in common: there are yakuza, office workers, transsexuals, regular women, and so on.

They're gathered around a single individual, and they throw themselves to the ground before him with tears in their eyes.

The camera captures the person standing in their midst - a young man with silver hair and pierced ears who is looking down at the people around him with cold eyes.

Naturally that's me, Daiya Oomine.

"—Hmph."

Again, events are proceeding according to my plans. I was sure that someone would film it if I set up such a performance on a major street, now that camera phones are ubiquitous.

I even planned for the event to end up on TV.

The commentators at the studio frown at the video and make assumptions that totally miss the mark, like "is this some new cult?"

The truth is something entirely different, of course.

I created the "Dog Human" phenomenon and the collective genuflection with my powers.

No one at the studio has linked these two events yet, but there will be people who will associate these two sensational incidents due to their simultaneous occurrence. People on the web have started to suspect some kind of relation between the two without giving it much thought, but they are actually on the right track.

That video is a precursor to my ultimate goals.

Once society can no longer ignore the "Dog Human" phenomenon, I'll teach the masses just who it is that stands in their midst.

And at that point, my plan will start in earnest.

I leave the business hotel and walk along the streets of Shinjuku.

It's Sunday afternoon. Crowded. Unable to stand this huge mass of people, I'm struck by a dizzy spell.

I know by now that most people are sinners. My 'box' has forced me to come to the conclusion that legions of people are hiding polluted sludge within their bodies.

By now, a crowd like this feels no different than a wriggling garbage sack to me.

...Well, I've gotten used to that, too.

It's already September, but the temperature shows no sign of declining, making it as hot as it was during the middle of summer. I look at my watch. It's 2 p.m.

As the sun moves across the sky, my shadow slowly lengthens.

One after another, the people around me tread on the shadow that I've cast.

Which automatically activates my 'box'.

Every time someone walks into my shadow, my body gets penetrated by sins. Sins, sins, sins.

"......"

When I first started using my 'box', I was unable to remain standing. But by now, it's just a matter of routine. I'm no longer the man who broke under that disgusting feeling. I have already prevailed over my weakness.

This is just an unpleasant chore.

"Ugh!"

The ugliness that I'm feeling is just too much - I have to cry out.

What the fuck is this? What is this repulsive feeling, like someone threw vomit, foul salad oil and insect larvae into a blender and made me drink the results?

What kind of human scum bears such a horrible sin?

I rub my temples and turn to the person standing in my shadow so I can look him in the face.

"......"

What a surprise.

Turns out it's a middle school girl with a black bob cut who could be best described as naive-looking. Even though it's the weekend, she's wearing her school uniform. Her pure looks are the opposite of a sinner's. In fact, she seems too pure to be part of this city's madding crowd.

Having heard my groan and seeing my contorted face, she gives me a suspicious glance. ...Tch, who do you think is to blame for this?

Our eyes meet, but she just tries to pass me by.

"Give up on your revenge. I pity you, but you reap what you sow."

The girl stops and turns to me. The reason for her lack of expression is probably that she has yet to realize the situation that she's in.

"You may want to punish wrongdoers, but the guys who pay for your body aren't the same as the guy who gave you AIDS. Nor are they somehow in cahoots. Their sins certainly aren't as grave as what you plan to do to them. I guess you don't agree with me, though."

Her eyes start to show some confusion, but she otherwise remains poker-faced. Maybe she's not good at expressing herself...

"So stop selling your body and spreading HIV."

With an utterly deadpan look on her face, she opens her mouth.

"...Please don't say such nonsense in public."

She speaks at last. I have to strain to hear her frail voice. Looks like she's also not very energetic.

"Don't worry! Look, there's no one paying any attention to us. You'd go nuts if you had to pay attention to every single person you pass on the street. This bunch wouldn't care if a wanted criminal were strolling by."

Well, it'd be an entirely different story though if someone started to act like a dog...

"How can you know what I'm doing...?"

"I don't. I merely sensed your reeking sin."

Her somewhat lifeless expression starts to change. Most likely she wanted to frown, but because she's so bad at expressing herself, she just squints a bit.

She turns away from me and dashes off. Looks like she's finally trying to escape.

"You can't escape. You're already under my control."

I close my eyes.

I close my vision. I close myself.

Back when she stepped into my shadow, I absorbed her sin. I now reach into the depths of my heart and grope for it.

A numbing pain pierces my innards.

While enduring this pain, I search within my mind for her specific thoughts. The dirty jumble of countless others' repulsive thoughts that are in my head, makes me want to hold my nose even when there's no physical stench. I imagine the contents of a witch's cauldron filled with poisonous plants and lizards.

The pain I feel is most likely a mere illusion: it's just my heart cringing. My heart is struggling with all its might against touching such filth, and causing me pain as a result. Hell, it's like a host of tapeworms squirming inside me.

While resisting the waves of disgust, I finally find her thoughts among all the others that I hold in my head. They resemble a "shadow."

Each of these shadow-like thoughts is someone's sin.

Reaching even deeper into this repulsive cauldron——I grab her shadow.

"Uh, ah...!"

Several meters from me, the middle schooler crouches down.

I've finished taking control.

I open my eyes.

I try to forcefully suppress the numbness within me by pressing my hand hard against my chest, and slowly approach her.

"Ah, aaaaahaaaaaah!" she cries and convulses in pain.

Her response draws the attention of the people around us, but no one is willing to help her out. Everyone is either just ignoring her or watching helplessly.

"This distress is merely the result of your being directly confronted by your sins. You realize that, right?"

Without saying a word, she continues to cry.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to turn you into a "Dog Human." Only those who have escaped from their responsibilities by turning off their brains and no longer retain any feelings of guilt - are the real scum who are lower than mutts. That doesn't apply to you. You are suffering. You have just become desperate. This means that you still have a chance for growth. But I think you need to be monitored. Therefore—"

I throw the shadow of her sin into my mouth.

"—become a slave of your sin."

An incredible bitterness spreads in my mouth.

By doing so, I have subjugated her.

The 'box' I obtained: the 'Shadow of Sin and Punishment'.

In a nutshell, the power of my 'box' uses the feelings of guilt deep inside the target to bring him or her under my control.

But I have imposed additional conditions upon myself. In order to control someone, I have to directly confront their sins. This essentially means that I have to look at the ugliest parts of people's souls. For example, the middle school girl before me caught HIV due to prostitution and despaired. As revenge, she has been selling her body to infect the men who have sex with her. Despite the deep suffering she experiences due to the guilt of her acts, despite her pangs of remorse, she can't stop herself. Her sin has already taken on a life of its own, gone out of control and is damaging others as well.

I burden myself with these sins.

I even burden myself with the harmful ill will that is attached to these sins.

As a consequence, I also get attacked.

But only by doing so can I control my target.

—A 'box' can grant any 'wish'. But there is no one with a perfectly undistorted wish. A 'box' grants such distorted 'wishes' in their exact distorted form.

I'm no exception to this rule. Because of my burdensome sense of realism, I can't bring myself to fully believe in the power of the 'boxes'. I can't help but feel that, on some level, it's just a pipe dream.

If you use a 'box' thoughtlessly, your 'wish' will be twisted and not come true.

Fortunately though, I was aware of this rule. Thus, I decided against using my 'box' immediately after receiving it from 'O', and instead sought a way to master it.

Before long, I was given the chance to gain mastery over my 'box' within Koudai Kamiuchi's "Game of Idleness." I was able to become enlightened.

You mustn't try to grant your 'wish' directly with the 'box'. You have to 'wish' for the means to grant your 'wish'.

Imagine that you wanted to destroy the world. When you wish directly for that goal, the 'wish' automatically becomes vague and doubtful at the same time, preventing you from mastering the 'box'. Instead, you should take an indirect route and 'wish' for a switch that can trigger a nuclear holocaust. Such a 'wish' has enough force to destroy the world and is concrete enough to be easily visualized.

Of course that may still be an absurd 'wish'. You have to be able to believe that a 'box' has enough power to grant it. That said, I have already seen the unbelievable power of the 'boxes'. It's no problem for me to imagine something as basic as control over existing nuclear arsenals.

Even a realist like me can master the 'boxes' in this manner.

My true 'wish' is to "wipe out all those thoughtless fools." I refrained from trying to grant this 'wish' directly and instead asked for a weapon to do so.

Controlling others.

That's the weapon I've chosen.

It's probably my basic nature that lets me grant my 'wish'. Anyone else would probably have failed, unable to believe that they can control others. But I've always considered it possible to control others with my words and actions to a certain extent. While that might or might not be true, it doesn't matter, because my belief in the possibility of control let me grant my 'wish' without distortion. By imposing some strict conditions on myself, I solidified my 'wish' even more. After doing so, I was finally able to obtain my power.

But this power is terribly weak compared to my ultimate goal. It's a power that requires me to take a ridiculously roundabout approach. I have never hated my realist's mindset as much as I do now.

That being said, I don't really mind.

After all, this power feels extremely fit and proper.

And doesn't that mean that it suits me perfectly?

"Will you stop your pointless revenge?" I ask the girl who's still crouching and crying.

"Ahaahh," she pants incomprehensibly while nodding vigorously.

There's no doubt that this girl will stop her self-defeating revenge. There seems to be no special need to control her.

Since I'm done here, I walk away. Suddenly two men who look like college students stand in my way.

"...Hey, what have you done to that girl?"

The speaker's tone is calm, but both students are burning with righteous indignation and don't seem to plan on letting me pass. Apparently, they think that I harassed the girl.

"I haven't done anything. Right?" I say and turn to her.

She hurriedly wipes away her tears and stands up.

"Yes. Nothing at all," she says as she raises her head.

Even though she hasn't done anything unusual, the students shrink back.

—Why?

After looking at her, I understand their response - no wonder they shrunk back when they caught a glimpse of her face.

Her smile is utterly unnatural - it looks as if the corners of her mouth are being pulled up by strings. A dull light is glittering in her eyes.

—Oh no, not that pattern...

"This man is a god."

Please don't.

All I did was stir up her feelings of guilt. I prepared to control her, but in the end I didn't. But it looks like she was able to reconcile her feelings because I sucked up her remorse and confronted her with it. I accidentally provided something akin to a perfect counseling session with instant success.

Because I accomplished this in a single moment with a mysterious power, she thinks I'm a god. It's a pattern that occurs from time to time when I use my 'box'.

With this newest development, the college students seem to have hit their limit and walk away with contorted faces.

I, too, contort my face and look at the schoolgirl. She is breathing wildly and smiling as if gazing at a celestial being.

For heaven's sake, don't call me a god. Stop that. Seriously. It's disgusting. It feels like someone stuck a finger down my throat. I'm not god-like, nor do I want to become a god.

But.

"——Right. I'm a god."

I have to let them call me that.

I'm still a wimp. I haven't completely thrown away my "self" from back when I still believed in the benevolence of human nature, back before I started getting my piercings. That's why I suffer so much from burdening myself with other people's sins.

If it's normal for a human to suffer from doing that, then I must stop being human. I must become heartless. If choking Koudai Kamiuchi to death wasn't enough to overcome my weakness, then I just have to kill again. That's how important it is to erase my weakness.

I will transcend myself.

If I have to become akin to a god to accomplish my goal, I shall become a god.

"......"

I look at the girl who's worshipping me.

There's no special need to control her... but then there's no reason not to take control of her either. How can I become a god if I'm not prepared to steal her dignity and wreck her?

It's child's play to ruin her life.

Her life's as good as over anyway. Then—

"Abandon everything for me."

I touch the "Shadow of her Sin" that's within my chest and start controlling her.

"...Ah..."

She lets out a sensual moan and leans against me. As if begging to be dominated, she looks up at me with moist eyes.

"Rejoice. I can give even a filthy whore like you a purpose. Well, let's see. First of all, lick my shoes right now."

"Oooh, thank you so much! Thank you so much!!!"

Without hesitation, the girl starts to lick the soles of my boots.

"I'm happy. I'm so happy. What bliss it is to touch something you put on, even if it's just with my tongue!"

While bathing in the curiosity and scorn of the surrounding people, I think:

How stupid. Making her do something like that only makes me feel embarrassed at best. It makes me sick. But I have to subdue everyone like that.

I have to let go of my insignificant personal feelings.

"——Ngh!"

But I am still grieving.

I—touch one of my piercings.

By now, I have a total of six piercings in my ears. I felt the strong urge to create holes in my body, which is why I got those piercings.

"———"

For some reason, Kokone Kirino's face crosses my mind.

Even though I'm supposed to throw away my feelings for her, her face crosses my mind.

The Kokone Kirino in my thoughts, however, is not that superficial, Barbie doll of a woman who puts in contacts, constantly changes her haircut, and needs more than an hour every morning for her makeup.

The Kokone Kirino I see is that timid and sensitive girl who always used to follow me wherever I went. Back then, the self-conscious eyes behind her glasses looked only at me.

I shake off my mental image of Kiri's face.

Yeah, I know! My attachment to Kiri is the greatest obstacle to achieving my goal.

I gaze down at the girl who is still licking my shoes.

I will change the world.

I will revolutionize the world!

"...Right."

In order to make that possible, I must abandon Kokone Kirino.

I will also have to defeat my greatest enemy.

"I will go meet the zeroth Maria."

A certain simpleton who was transformed by the killer game and has resolved to pursue his goal with absolute determination.

That specialist in crushing 'wishes' will appear before me without fail. This time, he won't be drawn in by a 'box'; instead he'll take action of his own accord and attempt to crush my 'box'.

—Kazuki Hoshino.

I will fight against you.

Share