Culling Games VIII

A chapter already! Man, I'm so nice. It's like I'm pampering my viewers. Giving them a chapter after 6 months of absence. Such a good author.

Anyway-

Recap: Isao Arai, the MC, is currently stuck in Eino Haibara, the sister of Yu Haibara's body due to being killed by Ryomen Sukuna in Shibuya. He has entered the Culling Games due to being forced to participate and has been earning points to put rules to his advantage. 

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The most dangerous moment for the players in the Culling Games was noon due to the abundant amount of sorcerers aiming to kill their opponent when they were in the most visible and energized form. The number of casualties was in the 100s. Yet today, the night was going to be the most dangerous moment in the day for the players.

The city was quiet at the moment. As if it was the calm before the storm but a moment later, sounds of a helicopter could be heard appearing within the barrier. Then more and more came around signaling the entry of an army.

"Yo, I'm Kogane! Welcome to the Culling Games!!" Within the helicopter, all the soldiers were greeted by Kogane, the game master of the Culling Games.

"Damn, that's freaky."

"Right? Hearing it is something but seeing it freaks me out. If I wasn't on the mission, I'd have run away."

"Focus lieutenant. We have a mission to accomplish." The leader of the team said making the team quiet. They were on a mission that would serve their nation, The United States of America. They couldn't afford to make mistakes.

The leader of the team went up to the cockpit stood between the two helicopter pilots and pointed to one of the buildings.

"Land us on that rooftop." 

"Copy that. Preparing to land."

He turned to his squad and held his radio. "Activate the comms at the right frequency, inside this barrier we won't be able to contact the outside so we need to make sure we achieve our mission. There are no second chances. Is that understood!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"We are approaching the destination." The pilots said and activated the wheels preparing the land.

But just as they were about to land, something that cut through the wind sliced through the tail rotor. It was so fast that none of the soldiers could react to it. Almost as if that something wasn't human.

"Mayday, Mayday!! A crash landing is imminent! Squad 4 is crashing! Prepare for impact!" The pilot radioed to everyone and crashed onto the rooftop. Luckily they were close to the rooftop and landed safely. 

Grunts and coughs could be heard inside of the helicopter as the soldiers made their way outside though not without a stumble or two.

"Squad 4, state the status of the squad. I repeat, squad 4 what is the status of the team."

The leader was about to respond but a maniacal laugh interrupted him. 

"Hahhahhaa!! Is this what modern-day sorcerers use?! How pathetic!" A tanned-skinned woman with a single white horn sprouting out of her forehead held the tail of the helicopter and smiled at the other helicopters.

"Gotta say! Normal sorcerers in my era didn't have flying weapons. I guess I'll give you that!" She said before throwing the tail of the helicopter at another helicopter. The impact was directly in the head and created an explosion killing the entire squad inside that helicopter.

"Squad 4! Evacuate the rooftop! We are going to open fire!" The radio comms kicked in and told them about their plan.

"Squad 4! Take the injured and leave!" The leader yelled out and opened the door to the stairs and carried one of his members on his back.

Firing could be heard as they headed downstairs. The bullets ripped through the rooftop but the firing never stopped and even changed directions to another building.

'Does that mean that woman jumped from one building to another? Crazy.' The leader cursed silently and frowned. This was much more dangerous than he had thought. If each of these sorcerers were as strong as that woman, then they were in deep trouble. He looked back to his exhausted and injured team. They needed to recover for a bit. He looked around and this place seemed to be a hotel of some kind. There are some recovery kits here but what they need is somewhere to lay them down.

He tried opening the door to a room but failed. It was locked. 

Without needing their leader's words, two men grabbed hold of a ram and placed themselves right in front of the door. They quietly gestured the timing with their hands to indicate when to go.

The captain of the squad started the countdown.

3...

2...

1...

Go!!

The two men with the ram slammed it into the door breaking apart the lock and collapsing the door.

They only wanted a place to stay. Somewhere they could recover their strength and meet up with other squads. They did the counting silently as it was protocol. But inside their head, they were not expecting anyone. Especially if that someone was their target.

A woman- no a girl was sitting in a meditative position. They didn't seem bothered by the noise of guns being fired from outside or the loud bang that the ram caused. They just seem unbothered. It was unusual. Too unusual, especially in a place like this.

The soldiers instantly knew what to do and pulled out their weapons. There was no need for words for these professionals and they were not about to be fooled by the appearance of such a young girl.

They aimed at the figure who was in a meditative position. The girl opened their eyes and looked at them uninterested.

Without any word, they opened fire at her aiming to incapacitate him with their weapons. Just as their bullets were about to reach him, they saw his figure disappear. 

"Where did they go?!"

"She vanished!"

Panic ensued in the squad knowing that they were up against the supernatural.

"Not vanished. Just standing behind you."

The girl said as she sheathed the volcanic blade into its sheath.

The entire squad suddenly felt immense pain and they all collapsed to the floor. The soldiers looked down to see their arms having been cut off from the body and lying cold on the floor. 

Screams of agony filled the room, blood spurted like a sprinkler and forever dyed this room with its color and iron-like smell. 

"You people seem to have voluntarily entered the Culling Games which means that you all should be ready to die." She gazed at them coldly making them all shut their mouth with his clay and stopping the blood.

This was no simple girl, no it was Eino Haibara and the one currently in control of that body was none other than Isao Arai."

"I'll give you all an ultimatum, die by my hands or live. Answer my questions and I'll give you that choice." Arai spoke in English to make them understand him.

"You think we'll tell you anything. Loyalty is something each of us has for our country. We aren't rats!" The captain of the squad said not wanting to disclose anything. Even if he died, that would give the conviction to the rest of his men to say nothing.

"You seem to misunderstand your position." 

Arai grabbed hold of the soldier who talked and dragged him through the floor. The soldier was struggling and tried to move but Arai paid him no mind. He opened the door to the closet and made every soldier in the room shiver in fear from what they saw.

The mangled corpses of cursed spirits were bundled together by a net made of clay.

"Meat! Meat!"

"So cold. Warm, warm."

"Hair skin, so lovely."

Arai lifted the shackle from one of the cursed spirits freeing him and threw the man. The soldier grunted from being thrown into the cursed spirit. He pointed to the freed spirit and spoke to it.

"You. Eat him." 

"WAIT, WAIT WAIT!!"

The cursed spirit who was finally free walked with four legs with its head upside down instilling an even bigger upon the soldier. 

"I'M SORRY!! I'M SORRY! I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING-"

All soldiers witnessed their comrade being eaten alive by the cursed spirit. They wanted to throw away their goggles giving them the ability to see cursed spirits but they couldn't move. After the body could no longer be seen, Arai backhanded the cursed spirit making it explode in a burst of purple blood and destroying windows.

"I'll give you one last chance. Tell me everything you know and I'll let you live."

Outside of the building, the sorcerer rampaged and threatened the fleet of helicopters. 4 of the helicopters were destroyed leaving only one remaining but the woman herself was not unscathed. Having bullet wounds all over her body with some charred skin. She was suffering and was bleeding out. 

Even if sorcerers were superior in physical abilities, humanity has grown beyond such barbaric methods. Weapons were just as dangerous as the average sorcerer. 

"Launching missiles." The pilot within the cockpit said alone. His partner who was beside him had a horn the size of a baseball bat embedded deep in his chest. 

The missiles were launched but before they could even get far, the woman had already made her move. Bones protruded from her palm just like her horn. The bones extended beyond her height and she broke it from her body and grasped them in her palms. She threw them like javelins making them collide with the missiles. 

The missiles being too close resulted in the helicopter exploding killing them.

"Ha! That's what you get for burning my arm." 

"Open fire!!" The remaining men opened fire at her with their assault rifles at her.

"Hmph! Amateurs." She reached to her back, pulled a shield from her flesh, and placed it in front of her. The bullets ricocheted making the soldiers quiver in fear. Nothing they did affected her. 

She charged at them ripping them to shreds with her bone weapons and even used her horn like a rhinoceros. A sorcerer was beyond what these soldiers could handle.

"Give me those alluring points!" 

"You can't be stingy and hog all of those points to yourself. Sharing is caring, after all."

A young girly voice sounded behind her, it was a gentle and soothing voice. Yet the instinct of a professional sorcerer kicked in. She, a renowned sorcerer from the Muromachi era, could not sense the presence of the overwhelming amount of cursed energy of a girl? 

That was ridiculous.

[Bone Protrusion: Kirin's Rear]

Countless spikes extended from the back and aimed at the newcomer. But when she looked back, she realized that her bone spikes had hit nothing.

"At the end of the day, if one strikes at the right spot, even if the opponent can extend bones, then the enemy will be rendered paralyzed." 

No time was given to her as a karate chop wrapped with clay struck right to her neck breaking the bone and severing the transmission of nerves throughout her body.

"You!-" 

No time was given for farewells or curses. Isao Arai smashed her head with her foot wrapped in clay splattering blood all over his clothes. It was instantaneous, no unnecessary time or movement was used. It was scarily efficient.

He turned his sights to the destroyed helicopters and soldiers and shook his head. They had come here on their volution. They had to be prepared to die. Innocents were going to be saved by his hands but soldiers? No mercy was needed there. Just like how they didn't try to give the dead sorcerer mercy and just like how she didn't give them mercy.

This was no playground. Blood needed to be spilled for one to survive.

Arai spit the blood in his mouth and flicked one of the splattered bits that landed on his clothes. "Bear with it Eino because your bed is going to stink of blood for a while."