Chapter 403. Giving You the Taste of Death
「Gurgle, gurgle...」
「It was like diving into the ocean, being in a realm of boundless darkness—a territory that made one instinctively want to flee. It was densely packed with multicolored light orbs, like fish and shrimp swimming in the sea.」
「Those were memories; those were existences. Those light orbs dotted this nauseating world, but they were by no means there by choice, nor were they happy about it.」
「Forced into this place, forced to stay, forced to be tasted and consumed—each light orb was an innocent victim, filled with such sorrow and helplessness. Hikigaya Hachiman had been among them several times.」
「Only now was different... Carrying hatred and a distorted expression, Hikigaya Hachiman entered this place at this very moment proactively, without a shred of resistance!」
「"If you want to eat, then I'll let you eat your fill, Ley Batenkaitos!"」
「"We never planned to be polite anyway; it's useless to talk tough at this point! Delicious! Mellow! Sweet! How—ah, ah? Aaaaaahhhhhh!?"」
「The moment he called out Hikigaya Hachiman's name and touched his body, the ritual was completed. Just as his nose was beginning to catch an exquisitely delicious scent, Batenkaitos's mockery froze in an instant.」
「The expected delicacy did not appear at all. Instead, something seared into his body, his soul, and his memories—it was a nauseating sensation climbing to an unparalleled, incomparable extreme. Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting, disgusting—it smells so bad, so bad, so bad—blegh, blegh, blegh, blegh—!」
「It was the pungent stench of a roadside public toilet encountered when one is desperate to go and finds it covered in waste.」
「It was the sight of a tattered plastic bag covered in insect eggs in an overflowing, stagnant gutter while walking home under an umbrella on a rainy day, accompanied by an unbearable, alien stench.」
「It was the unavoidable, sickening smell of damp rot when taking in laundry that had been soaked by rain.」
「It was the intense stench that fills an entire house when food is forgotten outside the fridge in summer and spoils.」
「It was the debilitating, appetite-killing stench emitted after stepping on a bug that suddenly appeared.」
「It was the hazardous stench that spreads across an entire street along with billowing smoke when a pile of trash is burned.」
「"Stench, stench, stench, stench, stench! It stinks, it stinks, it stinks, it stinks—blegh, blegh, blegh, blegh—ugh!?"」
「All sorts of foul odors constantly tunneled into his soul, his brain, his memories, and especially his nose. Batenkaitos's face was contorted beyond control; his mouth hung wide open as he breathed violently and incessantly, but no matter what, he could not disperse that stench, stench, stench, stench, stench.」
「Stench, stench, stench. Hikigaya Hachiman's existence, Hikigaya Hachiman's memories—he was prepared, and with his whole heart and soul, every single second, he was doing his utmost to recall these things, to wake up every speck of these memory-shards from their obscure corners. They were so intense they covered all other memories and existences, surging one after another to be absorbed and tasted by the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony.」
「Ordinary odors, ordinary olfaction, ordinary senses—these common stenches might have been a rather unique snack for the neurotic Sin Archbishop, but when gathered together so ruthlessly, rising and falling, merging and mixing, they were essentially expired food that made Ley almost want to chop off his nose to lose his sense of smell. It stinks so much, so much, so much!」
「"It stinks, it stinks, it stinks—blegh, blegh, blegh!"」
「Everyone smells many foul things in their lifetime, but those uninteresting parts are usually skipped or glossed over during the "tasting," reaching the interesting, edible parts in less than a hundredth of a second.」
「"We're going to kill you, Hikigaya Hachiman! Aaaaaahhhhhh!!"」
「His entire soul was retching non-stop as if he would vomit out his very intestines. Within the exchange of memories, Batenkaitos shrieked in unbearable agony. Hikigaya Hachiman's expression was even more distorted, his roar even louder than Ley's.」
「"If you want to kill someone that badly, then taste the flavor of suicide, Ley Batenkaitos!!"」
「The first time he failed a test in elementary school: I want to die, I want to die, I want to die.」
「The first time in his life he was unreasonably scolded by his parents: I want to die, I want to die, I want to die, I want to die.」
「When he was excluded from the group and mocked behind his back because his personality didn't fit in: I want to die, I want to die, I want to die, I want to die.」
「The first time he got sick since he could remember—so uncomfortable, so painful, so empty: I want to die, I want to die, I want to die.」
「...I want to die, I want to die, I want to die. Children are young and ignorant, afraid to face setbacks; everything easily makes them think of dying. It's ridiculous, annoying, and stupid, but it's earnest. Extremely earnest. Children always think about dying with such terrifying earnestness!」
「A child's thinking, a child's world, a child's cognition—it's always simple and pure. When it hurts enough to want to die, their whole heart and mind is filled with die, die, die, die!」
「"I want to die! Drop dead! ——Gurgle, gurgle..."」
「It was as if he had fallen into a sea where it was impossible to breathe. Batenkaitos's eyes rolled back, veins bulged, and his body, soul, and memories were uncontrollably filled with pessimistic emotions. Dominated by this sea of sinking despair, his mouth hung wide open, and his arms gripped his own throat fiercely.」
「"It stinks, it stinks... I want to die, I want to die... Blegh, puegh—aaaaahhh!?"」
「Nausea, pain, stench, the urge to die—the body was twitching, the soul was twitching, the memories were twitching. His stomach cramped, vomiting, vomiting, vomiting, vomiting.」
「Resonating with his own memories: a year and a half of actions, a year and a half of being moved, a year and a half of affection, a year and a half of sorrow, a year and a half of excitement, a year and a half of knowing people, a year and a half of socializing, a year and a half of communication, a year and a half of seeing, a year and a half of hearing, a year and a half of touching, a year and a half of growth, and...」
「...A year and a half of deaths!」
「"We... absolutely... won't forgive you!"」
「Louis, who had linked to the Hall of Memories, took on half of the surging memories and existence, reducing the pressure. Regaining self-control, they stopped their self-harming actions. Both Batenkaitos and the Louis who had arrived here stared at Hikigaya Hachiman with pure malice.」
「Hikigaya Hachiman, who had reclaimed his memories, had eyes colder, more venomous, more vicious, and more terrifying than theirs. Relishing those incredibly precious and irreplaceable past memories, he felt even more lingering fear and rage. Even his logic was nearly burned to ash as he spoke through gritted teeth.」
「His voice reached a peak of fury never seen before.」
「"I'm the one who won't forgive you—but no, before I finish you off, taste it well, consume it well, enjoy it well! The Return by Death you've been longing for—this feast, as a parting gift before you go... Sin Archbishops of Gluttony, help yourselves—"」
「"—to the taste of death!"」
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