Kami-Jutsu: The Yakuza's Son is Aware-Chapter 29: No Pain, no Gain

After ten months of careful planning and relentless honing of my Kamijutsu, I finally decided it was time to carry out my plan: my experiment on Mai.

"Promise me you will come back to life," I said to her, my eyes fixed on hers with a grave and unshakable seriousness.

She stared at me in silence for a moment, her gaze searching mine, before a warm smile touched her lips.

"As you will, Ojou. Tell me to jump into hell itself, and I will do so without hesitation."

What a fanatic.

If this failed, I would not only have killed my personal attendant, but Onii-sama would almost certainly refuse to let me join him.

And Ferry... He would probably laugh at me, considering he had warned me about this from the start.

Still, I had faith in Mai’s blind and absolute devotion to me. If there was anyone who could make this work, it was Honda Mai. She was just as unhinged and just as willing totake extreme measures as I was.

"I love that attitude," I said with a thin smile. "I will skip the tedious details, but in short, my goal is to evolve you into a higher form of being—a higher race."

She met my words with a steady seriousness, not dismissing them as a mere joke.

So I continued, "I have gone through a dangerous process of life and death myself, but I came out of it successfully."

I lazily lifted my hand, and the lamp on my desk behind me floated into the air.

"Because of an experiment—and, I admit, some curiosity—I have decided to turn you into something like me," I said as I lowered the lamp back into place. "You actually have no say in this matter. You have no choice but to obey me. The problem is that becoming a godman is not something achieved by mere choice. It requires a strong will, unwavering determination, and an unusual level of focus and concentration."

Mai remained attentive, showing only the slightest flicker of surprise when I levitated the lamp. Now she listened to my every word with full focus.

Very good.

"Mai, I will now penetrate your head and chest with what is called Kami particles, which are the very factor of your evolution."

Ordinarily, a ritual would be required, at least according to Ferry, and the risk involved in such a method was great. But I had no intention of taking the mythical route.

No, this was going to be philosophy turned into practical application. A science experiment.

If the Kami particles entered Mai’s core, they would need to flow through her body in a very specific pattern. If they did not, the result would be the violent tearing apart of her soul, leading to certain death.

I had no evidence to confirm it, but I suspected this was the true reason why humans died when exposed to an excess of Kami particles.

In my own case, I had already been dead. Onii-sama’s particles were deeply embedded within me, and Ferry’s genius had seen me through.

But Mai’s situation was different. She was alive. She was well. And she was brilliant.

My plan was to force her body to learn the pattern by exposing her to the particles directly. It should kill her instantly each time, but...

"Study the pattern in which the energy flows through you," I instructed. "It may feel as if molten steel is being forced into your veins, but you must endure it. The sensation is not actually harming you. If you manage to circulate the particles through your body in the correct manner, you will become a godman."

I fixed her with a final, serious look. "If you fail, you will die, and I will be in trouble. So... do you still want to do i—"

"Yes!" she interrupted without hesitation. "I will succeed for you, Ojou!"

Wonderful.

I liked the fire of determination burning in her eyes.

"My sweet, sweet Mai," I chuckled, "you will be dead for... well, I cannot say how long. But if this is successful, you will be revived. Do hurry though, Onii-sama needs results quickly."

With those words, I swung my hand without hesitation. The Kami particles, solidified into the sharp form of a kunai, shot forward and pierced straight through her skull and chest. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

She was flung backward, slamming into the door. A wave of red splattered across the wall behind her before she slid down slowly, collapsing in a limp heap.

She was dead.

Cleaning the blood would be such a nuisance. Normally, Mai was the one who handled that sort of mess.

I walked up to her and squatted.

I could feel the particles raging violently inside her body, as though her very being was locked in a desperate struggle to push them back.

Her body was probably trying to fight it off with everything it had, which would cause her unprecedented pain. Still, she was lucky that it was not Onii-sama’s particles...

It was not just painful; the few moments I had experienced before falling into that black pond had been the most excruciating agony of my life. It felt as though the personification of pain itself had embraced me, as if my blood had turned into molten lava flowing through my veins.

No pain, no gain, I suppose.

But truthfully, if this fails, I am in trouble. Mai seemed to have some relation to the Witch, and if this attempt does not succeed, I will have more than enough hell to pay for it.

It works only because it is Mai. Her devotion and loyalty to me are almost unholy in their intensity. Her intellect and brilliance are the only ones I have ever known to rival my own, and I sometimes suspect that she is far smarter, though she wears the lesser mask to hide it.

And the most certain reason this will succeed is because... I told her to come back to life.

It will not be easy. There will be no one to call her to the light, no one to encourage her to keep living. She will have to drag herself back from the clutches of death on her own. But that is exactly what all that determination of hers is for:

If she remains dead, she will never see me again. That is more than enough reason for that admirer of mine to challenge Hades himself.

For now, I will clean the blood from her and hide her in the closet. The fact that she is no longer bleeding is a good sign. I glanced at her open, dead eyes... and a sudden pang of sadness pierced me.

Strange.

Now I feel she should return to life not only because I will gain what I want, but because... I would actually like to see her alive again.

Hmph. Najimi is losing her edge.

*

Days passed. Weeks came and went.

It had already become a serious problem that Mai was missing. The Witch laid blame upon other clans and syndicates, Father suspected the Shinigami Ō, and Grandfather claimed she had simply run off with some man.

Regardless of their differing opinions, they still searched for her, but their efforts yielded nothing.

"Najimi... I hope all is well?" Ferry muttered when I was returning from the kitchen.