Volume Two: The Boy of a Thousand Faces, Truth in Disguise Chapter Seventy-One: Jiang Feng and Lapis Wind

Kallen’s head was still stuck fast in the earth, unable to move. If not for his horn being lodged deep in the ground, he could have simply rolled his head over to his neck, reattached it, and gradually pieced his body back together. But now, with his body separated from his head for so long, it had mostly necrotized. There was no hope of regaining mobility except to regrow his body, bit by bit, starting from his head.

The nutrients within his head were dangerously depleted; who knew how long it would take to regenerate his entire body? If he hadn’t activated his special ability in a moment of desperation, he might truly have been doomed.

Kallen’s ability created a space identical to his surroundings, and from his single horn he emitted the “transfer light.” Anything struck by that light would be transported into a copy of the space, separated from the real world. There, even if surrounded by multiple foes, he could pick them off one at a time—a survival tactic that had kept him alive despite his inability to handle complex situations or think quickly.

As for why the humans he’d attacked only fell victim to his power upon reaching the desert, it was because the caravan—dozens of trucks long—was simply too vast to cover with the transfer light in a single sweep. He’d had to rely on the sand’s loose structure to endlessly reflect the light until everyone was caught in its reach.

On that point, Hoya and the others had guessed correctly.

“Come on, just a bit more!” Kallen urged himself onward. He focused on regenerating his neck and shoulders first. Never mind the torso for now—arms took priority. Once his arms were regrown, he could push against the ground and finally pull his head free.

It was around three or four in the morning when Kallen, at last, managed to grow a hand. He didn’t wait for fingers to form; he pressed his stubby palm to the earth, desperate to escape. And finally, after spending more than a dozen hours as nothing but a disembodied head, he managed to free himself from his undignified, head-first predicament.

But Kallen did not relax. If his body didn’t recover soon, in a few days’ time Hoya and the others would break free from the alternate space—or perhaps even sooner, for his ability had its flaws, and anyone with spatial powers would eventually discover the loophole if left long enough.

Kallen’s head hopped and bounced to his necrotized body, devouring it with relish. Though it could no longer be reattached, the corpse still contained stored nutrients. If he consumed it all, he’d have the strength to quickly regenerate a new body and divide himself among the three spaces, devouring his prey until not even bones remained! First, he’d consume the dual-bladed human brat—after that, perhaps he’d ascend to a full-blown Catastrophe class!

“We’re done for, we’re definitely stranded in another world. We’re dead for sure if this keeps up!”

“That’s why I said from the start we shouldn’t have come! An Ultimate Form is far too dangerous—how could someone like me possibly handle it?”

Liuli Kazama felt she was about to lose her mind. She’d always been a heavy sleeper, and since Jiang Feng was restless and couldn’t sleep, she had let him keep watch so she could rest. Who would have expected Jiang Feng to mutter complaints all night long? Liuli Kazama heard every word of his defeatist whining and felt her own nerves were about to snap.

At last, she could bear it no longer. Determined to bring Jiang Feng back to his senses, she strode over and, without a word, slapped him twice across the face.

Jiang Feng finally stopped his incessant muttering. Still dazed, he heard Liuli Kazama scold, “You’re so noisy! Muttering all night long—are you even a man? Show some backbone for once!”

Jiang Feng stared wide-eyed, clutching his stinging cheeks. After a long hesitation, he finally asked, “Just now… what did you say?”

Liuli Kazama suddenly felt lost. In her agitation, she’d spoken in Japanese—completely forgetting that Jiang Feng probably didn’t understand it. After all, Japanese wasn’t a universal language. Had her words been wasted? Should she repeat herself?

But then Jiang Feng bowed his head and mumbled to himself, “I suppose you just find me pathetic, don’t you? Yeah, a grown man afraid like this—I’m ashamed of myself. But what can I do? I’m the weakest of everyone! When you think about it, I was always scraping by at the academy, barely passing each test, always on the verge of getting expelled. Even if the boss values my intelligence work, my combat skills are so poor I just drag everyone down. If I survive this, I should just quit the team.”

Seeing Jiang Feng’s dejected face, Liuli Kazama couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. His negativity was over the top, but from his perspective, facing a Catastrophe meant certain death. Unlike her, he had no real fighting strength—who wouldn’t be terrified?

“I was trying to say, pull yourself together. If disaster really strikes, it’s your job as a man to protect me.” Relying on the fact that Jiang Feng couldn’t understand Japanese, Liuli Kazama improvised whatever came to mind. At least, she hoped, he’d regain some confidence.

Jiang Feng looked at her in confusion, pointing to the two handprints on his face. “And this…?”

Since when did encouragement come with a slap? Wasn’t this just nonsense?

“I was worried you’d fallen under a Catastrophe’s illusion. I wanted to snap you out of it.”

Liuli Kazama gazed at Jiang Feng with sincere eyes, as if to say, “That’s exactly it.” Her eyes, usually half-closed from constant fatigue, now shone like stars in the night.

Jiang Feng believed her. When a beautiful girl said something minor like this, how could you not believe it?

Her words did have some effect. While Jiang Feng didn’t become completely spirited, at least he stopped his endless complaining.

But then Jiang Feng said, “But you’re stronger than I am. How am I supposed to protect you?”

Liuli Kazama suppressed a sigh. Would his worrying never end?

No, she must keep smiling. Jiang Feng was finally improving—no need to discourage him again. Tilting her head with a gentle smile, she answered, “Don’t say that. I think you have a lot of potential, Jiang Feng. It just hasn’t been awakened yet. Have some confidence—hang in there! You can do it!”

Hearing her soft, gentle voice, Jiang Feng’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and he could only mumble, “O-okay.”

Liuli Kazama let out a silent breath of relief, then said, “I don’t think we can just sit here and wait to die. We should find a way to locate the captain and the others. Our advantage is in numbers—now that we’ve been split up, we’re at risk of being picked off one by one.”

Jiang Feng nodded and began analyzing calmly, “When we were hit, it was a non-discriminatory attack from the ability, so everyone’s situation should be the same. We weren’t separated individually, which means the Catastrophe’s power is limited and can only put two people together at a time. The basis for grouping… should be proximity. The captain and vice-captain were in close quarters, while Alice and Reimi are both ranged fighters. We were in the middle, so the groupings are the captain with the vice-captain, and Alice with Reimi.”

Jiang Feng easily deduced their current predicament and even made an accurate assessment of Kallen’s ability. This was his true strength—he was a strategist, his intellect surpassing the average person by half.

Liuli Kazama looked at the suddenly composed Jiang Feng in astonishment. Was this really the same man who’d spent all night muttering about dying? He seemed a different person entirely.

Jiang Feng noticed her odd stare. “What is it?” he asked in confusion.

“It’s nothing,” Liuli Kazama waved her hand. “You just seem a little… cool like this.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Not really. I just don’t want you lapsing back into neurosis. Please, just stay confident like this,” she thought to herself.

Jiang Feng went on, “From what I know about abilities, since it’s a ‘technique,’ there must be ‘rules’ involved. The place we’re in now is probably a small space modeled after the real world, constructed by Kallen’s power. If we think of these small spaces as boxes, then the three small boxes and the big box representing the real world are connected by ‘links.’ These links transport Kallen’s power and keep the spaces running. Since there are links, there must be nodes connecting them to this world, and if I’m right…”

Liuli Kazama seemed to realize something at the same time, and together they exclaimed, “If we destroy the nodes, we can break the ability!”