Kibishi's POV

  There was nothing left. All of the current events that I had seen for the first yer had ended. Now, I was staring into the void of darkness.

  Knowing that the view show was over, I began to slowly open my eyes to see the world once more.

  The vision was a bit blurry at first, but after staring at a wall for a few minutes, my vision returned to how it was supposed to be. I held my head and shook it. I then looked around for a bit and saw Mato seemed to be coming to as well.

  Not to mention, Jir seemed very tired and id back down out of exhaustion. That spell must have been something if it made her y down as soon as she was done showing us the events so far.

  "I see. So that's what happened." Mato nods and then folded his arms.

  "The wounded aren't here, but at a caring center for them to be treated. Taoreta must be there as well. That expins why we only see Kujira and not the rest of the group." Mato unfolded his arms and started to pick up a notepad and a pen. "Still, a monster that can ice powers. Not even the Super Codes can protect from that type of temperature. It seems like it was below zero, too."

  "Below zero? I doubt any normal human can survive that if that's the case." I answered while standing up from my seat.

  "Normally, no. But the soldiers also got Super Codes. So it wouldn't be that surprising that they could survive that type of temperature. That being said, I think that's why most of the soldiers were killed. The area was so cold that they couldn't move properly. No, even putting that aside, that monster is a whole other level than the simple creatures or forbiddens...."

  Mato put away his notepad and looked at Jir.

  "Kujira, is there anything else we should know about?" Mato turned serious.

  "No... not that I can think of. The monster is facing off against Kuma and David as we speak so I think it's best that I take Kib with me right now before it's too te...."

  "Not in that condition, you're not. Plus, Kibishi being there won't even the odds that much..." Mato stated in a factual tone.

  "But the concept of death itself could lead us to... victory. It's our... only chance left, Mato..." Jir whispers in a daze.

  "..." Mato closes his eyes and folded his arms once more. "Honestly, with the current condition Kibishi is in, I doubt he can truly tap into his reaper powers. Not fully, at least. It's still a gamble..."

  "..." I remained silent.

  Was I really going to stay here for another night while the others fought their butts off against this monster?

  Hell no.

  ...Good. At least I was still human. That was the most human response I had ever heard. Or- thought of.

  I slowly took out my knife and stared at the bde.

  Now, I let myself think about it realistically. There was no way in hell that I could keep up with a monster that could freeze you in a matter of seconds. The moment it caught my presence, I would turn into a popsicle stick. My movement was faster than that of a typical human being, but against a monster, I would need to be faster. And even then, my knife would need to make contact with the monster in the first pce.

  I looked at Jir and stared intensely.

  I could ask Jir to help with the speed problem, but that would slow her down with helping Akuma on the battlefield. I looked at my knife once more.

  Damn it!

  No matter what, the results would be the same. I would end up dead before I knew it. And that was the part that got me. It was the fact that I would die before killing that thing that was frustrating me.

  If I can't be fast enough to even get it before it notices me then...

  I thought back about what Mato had said about how I could have gotten my powers in the first pce.

  Okay. So I had died before, right? Let's assume that I did and by some mercy, I had ended up back in the nd of the living. If that was the case then wouldn't me dying and being at death's door increase my powers in theory?

  And if that's true then maybe my speed and power will increase as well. The only downside is that I might end up not waking up ever again...

  I pced my free hand under my chin. Well, that didn't sound so bad- no. It was bad. But not at the fact of my dying, but the idea of leaving Tao alone prematurely could cause problems...

  That said, I couldn't be hesitating to kill right now.

  I didn't like the idea of killing, but... if push came to shove, then I would have to use my powers to end this monster.

  Besides...

  All of those teenagers and adults who had gotten killed thanks to its animal-like instinct. That was the one thing I could not forgive. I didn't give a damn if it begged for mercy, I wouldn't show it for any reason.

  If it felt really sorry then it shouldn't have killed in the first pce.

  That thought aside, I didn't want to be thinking this way all the time either. Perhaps it was because I might change as a person if I viewed killing as an okay thing as long as it was "justified". And that term could be anything for anyone based on their personality.

  Of course, this was all in my opinion and mine alone.

  I would keep that in mind, though.

  "Mato, you said that I died when I was little, right?"

  "I'm not so sure. It was only a theory of mine." Mato confirms with a serious look.

  "Close enough. In that case, we may have a chance." I nodded.

  "How can you be so sure? Kibishi, you may be the concept of death, but that can mean a lot of things. For example, you could see the lines of death. Heck, you could see the future that retes to death. Or, you can bring death to those you don't like. There are many things you could do. But we can't be for certain unless we can run some tests."

  "...Hmm. Well, I don't really see any lines anywhere so it can't be that one. But bringing death? Hmm... I'll think about it." I smiled a little.

  Yeah, I felt a little better. After hearing that I was THE concept of death then that meant I could pretty much do any form of death. And if that was the case...

  "....I could... possibly have the vision to see future death AND cause it."

  "Huh?" Mato raised his brows.

  "Remember when I told you that my vision goes dark and certain things glow? Yeah, I think that's seeing... something. Maybe that can cause death? I don't know for sure. But there's also those fmes..."

  I slowly lifted up my knife.

  "So if I'm the concept of death and if I can do pretty much anything that could lead to death then..."

  I looked at the table. I slowly walked forward with my knife in hand. Once I made it there, I pointed my knife at the table.

  Okay then, let's say that I want this table out of my sight since it's an "eyesore"? If it's connected to my emotion then...!

  Ba-bump!

  "AARRGGGHHHH!!!!!!" I screamed in pain.

  My brain was frying the moment I activated my power.

  Okay! Okay... that meant my theory about my power being tied to my emotions was right on the money. That in mind, the pain slowed down as the pounding of my brain started to rex a bit.

  Good.

  That meant I flipped the switch. My vision darkened except for the table and the knife.

  "Okay...! Okay... okay..." I started to pant due to how heavy my breath had become. My body felt like it had suddenly become full of lead. But! If I was getting all sorts of pain then that meant I was accessing the power of death.

  Right then, let's see if I could "beat" this table.

  "Kibishi! SHUT IT DOWN RIGHT NOW!" Mato shouted at me in pain.

  "Shut... up! Let me focus...!"

  I slid my left foot in a half circle and pced it in the back while the right was now in front. I lifted up my weapon and stared at the table in anger.

  The table is in my sight. It won't escape its "death" I'm about to give it!

  "Kibishi! Your power is overwhelming...!"

  Fwoosh! Ssh!

  Those warnings went in one ear and out the other. I was already on the other side of the table. I was in a superman pose with my knife in my hand. I could see the sparks of fmes that were around my knife. I looked back and saw the particles of fmes disappearing from sight. If I had to guess, those were the same fmes from the time back at the prison. Only this time, they were red and bck instead of blue and purplish colors.

  I slowly got up and stared at the table.

  Soon, I started to see these "cracks". Like those types of cracks you could see from broken gss if you hit it hard enough. They turned from yellow to red and then bck. Spreading like a wildfire in a forest.

  Slid.... crash!

  The table turned into a million pieces and burst into fmes. But the fire didn't burn anything at all. Once they touched the floor they simply disappeared into thin air.

  I looked at the knife and could still see it glowing-

  "Argh!" I held my head.

  Right... my power was still on...

  "What the...?" I looked at Mato, who spoke up. He went onto all fours and tried to find the remains of the table that was once there. Mato then slowly stood up, dusting himself off.

  "Well.. the table is... gone. But... how?"

  Ba-bump!

  "O-ow!" I held my head tightly.

  "Huh? Kibishi, your eyes are still glowing yellow. Switch off your power for now..." Mato said calmly.

  "I-I'll try..." I nodded.

  Now... how did I do that?

  It usually shut off out of nowhere. Well... yeah, I had no idea- huh?

  I felt Mato resting his hand on my red hair.

  "...Here..." Mato said in a soft tone.

  What was he up to?

  F....fwoossshhh...

  I then felt my eyes burning like they were on fire. and my vision was in fmes. Red fmes to be exact. It was like I was in the sun taking an extreme bath and my skin was peeling off my body.

  It burned.

  It burned, it burned, it burned!

  My whole body was on fire! What was this?! What was this?! What was Mato doing?!

  I tried to speak, but my voice was lost. My throat was so sore. Like I hadn't drunk water in years! Why was this happening?! Why was this-?!

  "...There." I heard Mato's voice once more.

  I then saw the fmes disappearing from my vision. Soon, I could see Mato in view once more. He was still holding onto my head. But at the very least, my eyes and body were cooling down.

  I felt Mato's hand slowly getting off my head with some red fmes on it.

  "Ah! Mato! Your hands!" I panicked and pointed at the fme.

  "Don't worry. It doesn't harm things that aren't a threat in your eyes. So the concept of death won't speed up the time of my death." Mato smiled gently at me and then shook his hand to put out the fire. And lo and behold, it worked.

  "How did you know that the fmes wouldn't kill you?" I raised my brows.

  "Simple. I just assumed they wouldn't. That, and the table burst into fmes, but the fire arm didn't start at all. Nor did the sprinklers release any water either. So I figured that it must be safe." Mato grinned at me.

  "...That's stupid," I said bluntly.

  "Yeah, well, even adults are stupid at times, kid. Get used to it. But on a real note, I simply put trust in the fact that you didn't have any evil intentions." Mato patted my head.

  "...I see." I smiled at that statement.

  "...Mm, what's going on? Are we leaving to get back to Kuma?" Jir said in a sleepy voice.

  Ah. Jir must've been sleeping for a bit.

  "Not yet. Let me upgrade your Super Codes and Kibishi's knife." Mato responded to Jir.

  "...Huh?" Jir tilted her head.

  She then narrowed her eyes at us.

  "I feel like I missed something crucial just now..." Jir looked at both of us suspiciously.

  Mato and I looked at each other and ughed nervously.

  "I'll expin it to you while I work with the Super Codes and Kibishi's knife. Let me give you a check up while I'm at it, Kujira." Mato started to walk towards Jir's bed that she had been sleeping on.

  "Sure..." Jir slowly nodded.

  I slowly looked at the knife that had no burn marks or even scrapes from the table, either. I stared at my reflection on the bde itself.

  Well, at least I can tap into my power at will. Bad news? I may not be able to shut it off properly.

  Yeah, that was one of those things I would have to practice when I got back.

  I slowly looked up at the ceiling with a small smile. With this, I could join back in the fight without any worry of holding anyone back!

  And while I wanted to go see Tao, I had to stay here a bit longer and see how things went here first. So wait a little longer, Tao. It wouldn't be long now...