The room was very dark, but very spacious.
Hikigaya got up from the floor. It was like he had been picked up and tossed—sothing he was starting to get used to.
"Looks like you passed the test after all. Just as I expected, I wasn't wrong about you."
A familiar voice ca from the darkness.
That face from his mory surfaced in his mind—a devil wearing human skin.
The voice ca from straight ahead, and Hikigaya looked up.
There were seven steps, and at the top, on a large chair, sat a person wearing a grotesque mask. But the mask… sothing about it made Hikigaya feel like he was overlooking sothing, or rather, that he should be rembering sothing.
"I am the Demon Fist God, Silkwat Jenazad. Both man and god. From today onward, you are my disciple. I permit you to call 'Master.'"
As he spoke, the masked man suddenly floated away from the chair without any warning and appeared in front of Hikigaya, grabbing him and lifting him up.
Again with the grabbing! Why did all these martial arts types like picking him up!?
Did he have a face that just scread "please pick up"?
"No matter whether you believe in gods or not, Pencak Silat will be your only god from now on. No person or thing is allowed to defile the na of Pencak Silat. Understand?"
"I understand."
Hikigaya nodded.
He didn't understand at all. But could he say that?
"Heh heh, kid, what's your na?"
"Hikigaya Hachiman."
"Not a good na. Change it. Later... well, tell once you've thought of one. For now, it'll do."
The masked man tilted his head, then extended his hand and removed the mask.
As expected—it was that face.
But in this setting, that face looked even more ghostly and terrifying.
"Kid, I've used a special thod, so my face still looks young. Stop having unnecessary thoughts like that. All you need to do is pursue the pinnacle of Pencak Silat. Nothing else matters, and you shouldn't have any doubts. Otherwise, you have no reason to go on living."
He's clearly not a good person, but surprisingly honest. He laid things out clearly from the start—that's rare, Hikigaya thought.
"If you have any questions, ask them now. Once we leave this place, no more pointless questions are allowed."
Silkwat Jenazad smiled at Hikigaya. If you just looked at the face, that smile was quite charming. Unfortunately, Hikigaya knew all too well that the man in front of him was no kind soul, and thus felt no warmth from it.
After thinking for a mont, Hikigaya still decided to ask.
"Master, what is martial arts?"
He was really curious—how would a killer like this define martial arts?
"Good question, my disciple. Martial arts are creation and destruction."
Silkwat Jenazad smiled—this ti with satisfaction.
"This is the first thing I'll teach you. Rember, we martial artists create ourselves and destroy others. If you want to reach your peak, you must destroy sothing extrely important to you."
"Then Master, for you, isn't martial arts itself the most important thing?"
"Haha, indeed. But it's different. I have already destroyed what I once cherished. It is precisely because of that, that I have reached this level. You must do the sa."
Silkwat Jenazad's expression now was anything but kind.
"Hikigaya Hachiman, what is the most important thing to you right now?"
Crap, I got myself involved in this!
But there was a way out.
Giving himself a ntal thumbs-up for his own cleverness, Hikigaya quickly ca up with a plan. He took off his bag and pulled out the clay jar.
"Hm? What's this?"
Clearly, this move had caught Silkwat Jenazad by surprise.
He took the jar and examined it for a long ti.
Suddenly, his eyes widened in shock.
"So it was you?! The offering from those Egyptians!?"
I'm gonna die!
For a mont, Hikigaya truly thought he was going to die.
It was an indescribable feeling—as if his entire body froze. His body, his mind—everything just… stopped.
When he finally beca aware that he was still alive, his ears were already filled with Silkwat Jenazad's wild laughter.
"Hahahahaha!!! I can't believe I stumbled upon sothing this interesting!"
Hikigaya's ears were ringing. He couldn't take it—he covered them and shouted.
The laughter stopped.
Silkwat Jenazad looked at Hikigaya like he was a priceless treasure, sending chills down the latter's spine. He felt the cold rising from his soles to his scalp, where it exploded, then poured back down his spine.
It wasn't just being stared at like that by this skin-wearing devil—it was what he said that struck him.
Offering?
Egyptians!?
Thinking back now, that cosplaying middle-aged man really did look like an ancient Egyptian, didn't he?
He hadn't realized it at the ti! Was he just pretending to love ancient cultures—unable to recognize them even when they were right in front of him? His so-called hobby was just sothing that existed in books…
"No need to be nervous. Now I have an even better reason to train you."
Silkwat Jenazad let out a strange gurgling sound from his throat, and his once-handso face twisted into sothing monstrous.
"This is it. This is the perfect opportunity to shake the world with Pencak Silat!"
He patted Hikigaya on the shoulder and placed the jar back into his frozen hands.
"Kid, you really are lucky. With your current situation, there aren't many who'd let you live."
With that miraculous pat, Hikigaya realized he could move again. The paralysis vanished.
"All right, our ti is precious. Co with , my disciple."
The door slamd open. Several Tidat people ca in and stood on either side.
This ti, Hikigaya didn't hesitate at all. Even he could tell—he had been swept into sothing huge. And this guy, who clearly wasn't a good person, might just be his only hope of survival.
He quickly followed Silkwat Jenazad.
"Clear everyone out of this hotel. Anyone who refuses to leave—make sure they die here."
Silkwat Jenazad didn't even look back as he strode out of the room, issuing commands.
"Tell the prince to inform those Egyptians—their item is with . I'll return it with the offering in six months. They can do whatever they want with it then, hahaha! If they don't like it, they can co find !"
"Heheheh! By the na of the Demon Fist God, I swear—this ti, I'll make Pencak Silat shake the entire world!"
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