Illimitable Until Death - Chapter 25

Regardless of the reaction of Mumei, Ikoma being pointed at with a gun by Konochi Kurusu who was wearing a menacing expression, watching all this Fang Li, who is familiar with the original plot, naturally understands why such a situation has arisen.

As mentioned earlier, at the beginning of the plot, two Hayajiro entered Aragane Station, one during the day and the other at night.

In the Hayajiro during the day, someone was falsely accused of being a Kabane and was shot.

At that time, Ikoma was the one who stood up for this person.

This righteous young man, who wished to defeat the Kabane, had long been resentful of the samurai’s in this station.

Not only were they cowardly and fearful, but they also directed their gun at weak humans, the same species, out of fear of the Kabane. In Ikoma’s eyes, such a samurai’s were nothing more than a cowards.

As a result, Ikoma, who stood up for this cause, was also suspected by the samurai’s and imprisoned on suspicion of being a Kabane.

Under such circumstances, logically speaking, Ikoma should have had nowhere to escape and would have been attacked by the Kabane.

However, Ikoma appeared here and once again stood up for someone.

When a person who was already suspected of being a Kabane suddenly appeared here, who wouldn’t be on guard?

Carrying this sentiment, Konochi Kurusu pointed the gun at Ikoma.

“You should be in prison,” Konochi Kurusu said coldly. “Why are you here?”

“…I broke the lock myself and escaped,” Ikoma replied in an equally unfriendly tone, with a grim expression. “If it weren’t for that, I would have been bitten by the Kabane in prison, thanks to you.”

“Bitten by the Kabane?” Konochi Kurusu’s gaze became even more fierce. “I see, you’re probably already bitten by the Kabane, aren’t you?”

The surrounding crowd was instantly shocked and instinctively moved away from Ikoma, no longer daring to approach.

Including the governing official who had just prompted Ikoma to step forward, he also distanced himself from Ikoma, his eyes filled with fear.

As for Yomogawa Ayame, the kind-hearted daughter of the Yomogawa Family, she seemed to want to speak up for Ikoma, but was restrained by Araka Kibito.

“Ayame-sama, please refrain from interfering,” Araka Kibito said with a serious expression. “If we let a Kabane infiltrate among us during the upcoming escape, everyone will likely die.”

Yomogawa Ayame was taken aback and fell into silence.

This made Ikoma agitated, and he shouted, “I am not a Kabane!”

Unfortunately, his agitated appearance only aroused more suspicion from everyone.

At that moment, not only Konochi Kurusu but also the samurai’s of the Yomogawa Family raised their guns one by one and pointed them at Ikoma.

“You guys…” Ikoma wore an uncomfortable expression.

That was only natural.

This righteous young man, who believed that the enemy of humanity should be the Kabane, not humans themselves, was strongly averse to internal conflicts among humans.

However, no matter what era it was, internal conflicts among humans were inevitable.

Because humans have intelligence, emotions, and various complex sentiments.

Without mutual understanding and tolerance, human conflicts would never cease.

Therefore, fundamentally, Ikoma was indeed a dreamy and passionate young man.

Unable to see the situation clearly, relying solely on passionate actions, it sounds very empowering, but to put it bluntly, it’s excessively reckless and brainless.

If there is no protagonist’s halo, characters like this are usually among the first to die.

However, for those who can see the situation clearly, such individuals are not detestable.

Watching Ikoma become the target of everyone’s arrows, Fang Li laughed softly at Mumei, who had been looking at Ikoma all along, and said, “Why? Aren’t you going to help him?”

“Help?” Mumei hesitated, lowered her head, and said, “Why should I help him?”

“Is that so?” Fang Li looked directly at Mumei, his tone filled with deep meaning. “Are you sure you don’t want to help him?”

Hearing Fang Li’s meaningful words, Mumei felt as if she had been completely seen through by this person.

Naturally, this kind of feeling is not very comfortable.

Mumei glared at Fang Li with resentment, then, under Fang Li’s provocative gaze, she propped up her somewhat feeble body, raised her head, and looked ahead.

Immediately, Mumei’s voice rang out clearly, breaking the tense atmosphere.

“Put down your guns.” Mumei spoke with a somewhat weak voice, sounding dispirited. “That person is not Kabane.”

Mumei’s words brought a smile to Ikoma’s face, while the people around exchanged glances.

“Not Kabane?” Konochi Kurusu didn’t put down his gun, his voice still cold. “He may not be Kabane now, but who knows if he will become Kabane in the future?”

“We can’t rule out the suspicion that he has been bitten by a Kabane,” Araka Kibito agreed, his voice adding a touch of humanity compared to Konochi Kurusu’s coldness. “Unless we examine his body and prove that there are no traces of being bitten by a Kabane.”

This statement immediately froze Ikoma’s expression.

Fang Li naturally understood why it was like this.

And Mumei, apparently, felt the same way.

“If you want to know if he has been bitten by a Kabane, I can tell you.” Mumei raised her eyes slightly, and her childish voice slowly sounded.

“He has been bitten.”

The temperature in the air dropped instantly.

“——?!”

Each and every one of the armed samurai’s aimed their guns at Ikoma as if they had been stimulated, their faces showing expressions of fear.

The surrounding crowd also screamed, spreading a sense of panic among the people.

“W-Wait…wait!” Ikoma involuntarily took two steps back, shaking his head as if unwilling to accept reality, his voice trembling. “I…I am not Kabane… I am not Kabane!”

However, no one believed him.

It is a well-known fact that those bitten by a Kabane will turn into Kabane.

Only Mumei, her expression unchanged from beginning to end.

“You’re right, you’re not Kabane indeed.”

With these words, Mumei approached and stood beside Ikoma, looking him straight in the eye, and spoke word by word.

“But you are no longer human either.”