The last thing Jin expected on a sweltering afternoon in Shibuya was to watch his best friend collapse, screaming, after tapping a mysterious snake emblem on his phone. But when Jin opens the same app in desperation, he awakens into a world that looks like Shibuya—yet is utterly empty. No people. No sound. And on his wrist, a snake biting its own tail, impossible to remove.
A status screen appears before his eyes: *Player Name: Kanzaki Jin. Ranking: 1,847th. Ability: Delay Collector.* A power s
Darwin's Game: Beyond the Game Over - The Unwithering Water Jar — The Collapsing Building and the Undying Vow
The smell of blood clung to the back of my nose.
Third floor of the Mutual Building, a mixed-tenant office block in Dogenzaka. This was right after one of Hideaki Kanehira's clones had carved deep into Rain's stomach.
I—Kanzaki Jin—tried to lift Rain, who had collapsed on the floor, and my hands trembled. Her white blouse was turning red before my eyes. I could feel the strength draining from her slender body.
" Rain, Rain! Stay with me!"
I shouted, but there was no answer. Her dull green eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. Her breathing was shallow. Her small lips moved faintly.
" ...I'm sorry, Jin. If only I'd moved faster."
No. That's not it. The one who should apologize is me.
If only I were stronger. If only I could use my Delayed Collection better. I should have been able to protect Rain.
" Jin, don't move. I'll stop the bleeding."
Kaname tore off his torn shirt sleeve and wrapped it around Rain's wound. His hands were trembling faintly too. Even so, his voice alone stayed calm.
" Damn it, that bastard... He swapped out his clones. Completely fooled my eyes."
Ryuuji spat the words from beneath his skull mask. His ability, Lie Detector, sees the lies in a person's words as a red haze. But Kanehira's clones speak exactly the same words as the original. Whether it's a lie or the truth—there's no telling them apart.
That was when it happened.
Zashh.
The sound of air being sliced.
I snapped my head up on reflex.
One of Kanehira's clones.
A blade of transparent water had pierced its chest.
"...Huh?"
The clone crumpled to its knees. From the hole in its chest, not blood but water gushed out. Kanehira's clones have physical form, but their insides are made of water. So if they're cut by a water blade, this is what happens.
The water blade streaked again.
A second clone was decapitated.
A third was slammed against the wall and went still.
"W-what the...?!"
Ryuuji raised his gun.
I tried to stand too, but my legs tangled under me.
From the direction of the building's entrance. Out of the darkness, a single girl walked toward us.
Water-tinged black hair in twin tails. The ties were slightly crooked. Large amber eyes. About five feet one. On her left wrist, a birthmark like a flowing stream. And the serpent emblem.
She clutched both hands tightly against her chest and looked at us timidly.
" I-I'm sorry... I came to help... Um, are you all right...?"
Her voice was small and shaking. Her face looked like she was about to burst into tears.
But those water blades from before—they had definitely come from her.
" You—Sui...?! What are you doing here?!"
Kaname's voice rose in surprise.
Sui. A member of the Sunset Ravens, with the ability "Bottomless Water Jar." A superhuman-class esper who manipulates water and blood. I still hadn't really talked with her properly.
" Um, Kaname-san contacted me... that Rain-san was in danger... so I..."
She looked at Rain. Seeing Rain covered in blood, her face went stark pale.
" Eek... Rain-san, the blood...!"
" Sui, you take care of Rain. Help stop the bleeding. With your ability, you can suppress the flow of blood, right?"
" Y-yes... understood... I'll do my best..."
Sui tottered over to Rain's side. Then she gently held her hand over the blood-soaked wound.
A faint light leaked from her palm. A light like flowing water. The blood pouring from Rain's wound slowly stopped, as if reversing its flow.
Amazing. So this is the Bottomless Water Jar.
" Thanks, Sui. You're a lifesaver."
" N-no... I'm not good at fighting... but at least stopping bleeding, I can..."
Then, from deeper inside the building, I heard clapping.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
" Oh? Reinforcements. And just one little girl, at that. The Sunset Ravens must be terribly short on talent."
Kanehira's clone emerged from the shadows. In a suit, looking at first glance like an ordinary office worker. But his eyes were the eyes of a beast hunting prey.
" You're Kanehira...!"
I clenched my fist.
Kanehira's clone sneered.
" Oh my, aren't you the boy with Delayed Collection. A useless ability that only shifts time. Unable to even protect that little girl Rain—what are you barking about?"
" You bastard...!"
" Stop, Jin. Don't take the bait."
Kaname grabbed my shoulder.
" Ryuuji, Sui, Jin. I'll buy us time. You take Rain and get out. This building's at its limit. Kanehira's clones keep multiplying."
" Kaname-san, what are you saying?! I'll fight too!"
" Jin, your ability isn't suited for direct combat. What you can do right now is carry Rain to safety. ...I'm counting on you."
Kaname's eyes were dead serious.
I bit my lip.
Frustrating. But Kaname was right. My Delayed Collection only delays the time of objects I touch by a few seconds. I don't have the power to defeat Kanehira's clones.
" ...Understood."
I hoisted Rain onto my back. Her body was surprisingly light. And cold.
" Jin-san, I'll guard your back...!"
Sui stood beside me. In her hand, before I'd noticed, she gripped a water blade.
" Um, I'm scared to fight, but... but I want to protect everyone... so I'll do my best..."
Her voice was still trembling. But in her eyes was unmistakable resolve.
" Thanks, Sui. I'm counting on you."
" Huh... ah, yes...! I'll do my best...!"
Sui's cheeks flushed just a little.
Then, Sui's demeanor shifted, just like that.
Her amber eyes turned a pale, cold color.
" ...Honestly, you useless lot took way too long."
Her voice was different.
Not the timid girl's voice from a moment ago. A sharp, prickly voice—someone else entirely.
" Huh... Sui...?"
" I'm not that weakling Sui. ...Well, same body, though. You, the one called Jin. Carry Rain and run, now. I'll clean up here."
The other Sui. A split personality. Her ability lets her share consciousness with another personality, switching depending on the situation. When it comes to combat, the other Sui—the foul-mouthed, aggressive personality—comes to the surface.
" Are you really Sui?"
" Shut up, Skull. You think your Lie Detector works on me? I'm not telling any lies. ...Right now, anyway."
The other Sui said that and readied her water blade.
" Here I go. My Bottomless Water Jar is going to slice every last one of those fakes to ribbons."
The next instant, the other Sui's body, water blade in hand, dove into the midst of Kanehira's clones.
The water blade danced.
Zashh. Zashh. Zashh.
Clone arms, legs, torsos—sliced apart. Spray flew like blood. The other Sui's movements were fast and sharp, like a different person from the front Sui.
" You lot, how long are you going to stand there? Get going, now!"
" Jin, let's move!"
" Right!"
Still carrying Rain, I broke into a run toward the building's exit. Ryuuji led the way with his gun raised.
Behind us, the sound of water blades slicing the air kept ringing out.
" You wretch of a girl...! But don't think you'll escape!"
Kanehira's clone stood in our path.
" Jin, get back!"
Ryuuji pulled the trigger.
Dadadadad!
Bullets pierced the clone's body. But the clone didn't fall. A body made of water repairs itself instantly, even when shot.
" Futile. My clones won't die from something like this."
" Tch...!"
Ryuuji clicked his tongue.
Then, Ryuuji's eyes flashed sharply for an instant.
" Jin, that bastard just said 'won't die.' ...That's not a lie. But before that, he said 'don't think you'll escape'—and that was a lie. Meaning that clone is deliberately blocking us to let us escape. ...The original is somewhere else."
Ryuuji's Lie Detector had caught the contradiction in Kanehira's clone's words.
" What...?"
" That bastard keeps swapping clones one after another to mess with my read. So we can't pin down the original's location."
" Then what do we do...?"
" I don't know. But at least defeating that clone is pointless. ...We need to hurry."
Ryuuji started running again.
I followed.
We raced down the stairs. Second floor. First floor. The exit came into view.
" ...Jin."
Rain, on my back, spoke in a faint voice.
" Rain! Don't talk! We're getting outside now!"
" ...Up. Kanehira's original... is on the building's top floor. ...But it's a trap. ...Don't go..."
Rain's ability, World Function. From a target's behavioral patterns, she probabilistically predicts their movements a few seconds ahead. Even with her consciousness hazy, she had activated that ability. She had predicted the location of Kanehira's original.
" The top floor...?!"
" ...Jin, please. ...Run. ...That place is a trap..."
" But if Kanehira's original is there, it's our chance to take him down. ...Rain, I'm not running. I will never forgive the one who hurt you."
" ...Jin, please... listen to me..."
Rain's voice was trembling with tears.
But I turned back.
Up the stairs. Up.
" Jin, where are you going?!"
" The top floor! Rain said Kanehira's original is on the top floor! If we take him down, it's over!"
" Idiot, wait! I told you that's a trap!"
" Even so, I'm going! I can't let him get away like this!"
I sprinted up the stairs.
Fourth floor. Fifth floor. Sixth floor.
The top floor. The door leading to the rooftop.
I kicked the door open.
" KANEHIRAAAAAA!!"
The rooftop. The night wind of Shibuya swept across it.
Hideaki Kanehira's original stood there.
In a suit. Glasses. At first glance, an ordinary office worker. But in his hand, he gripped a sword. Fifth dan in kendo. He was a master not only of his ability but of swordsmanship.
" Oh? To think you actually came. That little girl Rain's prediction seems to have been accurate. ...But you're a fool. You think an esper who can only shift time could defeat me?"
" You—you hurt Rain...!"
" Rain? Ah, that little information-analysis girl. A shame. If she'd been used better, she might have been useful to my insurance firm. ...But fools like you who defy me will all die here."
Kanehira raised his sword.
" This is the power of the third-ranked. Learn it well."
Then, the entire building shook.
BOOOOOM!!!
An explosion.
The ground gave way beneath us.
" What...?!"
" Hahahahaha! This is the end! I rigged this entire building with demolition charges! You'll die beneath the rubble!"
Kanehira laughed loudly and produced a single clone. Then he swapped the original with the clone.
" Farewell, fools! In the end, you were nothing but my pawns!"
Kanehira's original swapped places with the clone and vanished somewhere.
The building crumbled.
Walls, ceiling—crashing down as rubble.
" RAIN!!"
I shielded Rain on my back with my own body.
Rubble poured down on my back, my shoulders, my head.
It hurt. It burned. I couldn't breathe.
My vision went dark.
" ...Jin... Jin..."
Rain's voice came from far away.
" It's... fine... I'll protect... you..."
Still covering Rain, I couldn't move.
The weight of the rubble pressed down on my whole body.
My bones creaked.
The taste of blood spread through my mouth.
Ah. That's right.
I couldn't do anything.
Delayed Collection. An ability that only shifts time.
I couldn't defeat a single one of Kanehira's clones.
I couldn't protect Rain.
I couldn't save Shinotsuka.
If only I were stronger.
If only my ability were stronger—stronger.
" ...If only I... were stronger..."
The tears wouldn't stop.
Beneath the rubble, I couldn't move an inch.
Rain's words—"I'm sorry, Jin"—echoed over and over in my head.
No.
The one who should apologize is me.
Because I'm weak.
Because I'm powerless.
I couldn't protect my comrades.
" ...Rain... I'm sorry... If only I... if only I were stronger..."
A sob escaped me.
Then, through a gap in the rubble, I saw light.
A faint, pale blue light.
A wall of ice.
The ice wall was holding back the collapsing rubble.
"...Please, look after my sister."
A low, male voice.
The soul of Sui's brother, Souta, appearing through Sui's body.
His ability, the Unopening Ice Chamber. Freezing water to create walls of ice.
" ...Sui... is that you...?"
"...I'm not Sui. I'm Souta. Sui's brother. ...You, the one called Jin. ...Look after
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