Chapter 10 – Revealing the Truth
Main Story 1, Chapter 3, Part 4
Novel Title: 獣はかくして囚われる (The Beasts are Ensnared This Way)
Author：風結子 沙野 (Fuyuko Sano)
Illustrator：小山田 あみ (Oyamada Ami)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 鹿倉 陣也 (Kagura Jinya -MC) & ゼロ (Zero -ML)
*Please read at freenovels.net, the original site of translation. TQ*
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A mist hung heavily in the air.
Within it, Kagura crouched.
He was in the usual dream again.
―――If I take the elevator, I can reach Toono…
But he couldn’t move, paralyzed by the fear of falling. All he could do was wait for time to pass.
The palms of his clenched fists felt slick and smelled of blood.
―――I’ve been masking my lack of resolve by relying on Zero.
His body trembled, the anger directed at himself.
“A mere ‘Citizen’ like you, who can only protect the man he loves through self-sacrifice, has no right to stick his neck into this world.”
Kiriyama’s words had a ring of truth.
Zero was special to Kagura.
He longed to protect Zero and the things Zero had risked his life to safeguard. Yet, he was stuck in a vicious cycle, unable to defend himself and constantly yielding to Kiriyama’s threats.
“Do you lack the courage to face Hell?”
Kiriyama had gazed into hell. Zero, the Enwu team, Renjou—they all knew hell. And Toono, he dominated hell and sought to expand his dominion endlessly.
“I won’t let that happen.”
Kagura slammed his fist onto the ground and staggered to his feet.
He pushed through the mist and stepped into the elevator.
―――If I don’t confront hell, I can’t move forward.
If hell lay at the end of the fall, he would have to face it.
There, he might encounter his powerless self, incapable of saving anyone.
And that was what he had feared and ran from all along…
***
Kagura gasped as if he’d forgotten to breathe, opening his eyes.
“Haah… haah…”
As he struggled to catch his breath, Sanae, who had been sitting on a chair beside the bed, leaned forward anxiously.
“Kagura-san, are you alright?”
“Yeah… I’m fine.”
Sanae wiped Kagura’s face with a towel, looking concerned.
“You don’t have a fever, but you were thrashing around and drenched in sweat…”
His body was soaked as though he’d been doused in water.
It was the same recurring nightmare, but he couldn’t recall what happened after entering the elevator.
He did, however, feel that the mist clouding his mind had lifted.
Sanae, looking serious, made a suggestion.
“We should ask Chief Takizaki to assign more guards. Toono Ryouji of the Eastern Alliance is your nemesis, Kagura-san. It’s too dangerous. We’ll need substantial manpower to ensure your safety and to apprehend Toono Ryouji.”
Since the Macau mission had been proposed, Takizaki had repeatedly offered to bolster the team for Kagura’s safety.
But bringing a large contingent of Japanese police to Macau would provoke the Chinese government and hinder the investigations of the Aizawa-Somei team.
“I’ve explained multiple times why that’s unnecessary.”
As Kagura sat up, Sanae fidgeted with his lips as if he had more to say.
“What is it?”
“But Kagura-san, you haven’t been well these past few months, have you? Your complexion isn’t good, and you seem distracted at times.”
“…”
If he tried to brush it off, Sanae might escalate matters and call for reinforcements on his own.
“I admit I haven’t been in the best shape.”
Kagura ran a hand through his damp hair and stared at Sanae, narrowing his eyes.
The usually carefree colleague exuded a tense aura.
Sanae had spent personal time helping Kagura pursue the Eastern Alliance and never pried into Kagura’s reasons.
Perhaps it was because he trusted Kagura.
―――…I trust him too.
“Sanae, sit down there.”
Kagura pointed to the other bed, and Sanae moved from his chair to sit on it.
Kagura sat on the edge of his own bed, facing him. Wetting his lips, Kagura spoke openly.
“The reason I’m pursuing the Eastern Alliance—Toono Ryouji—is because my cousin fell victim to him. She lost her parents in an accident and endured a tough time mentally. Just as she was beginning to recover and had entered nursing school, she met Toono through a classmate.”
If he could turn back time, he would have risked everything to warn Haruka to stay away from that man.
“…My cousin was drawn to Toono.”
As much as he hated to admit it, it was true.
“Haruka was my first. She was such a sweet girl, always trying her best to cook terrible meals. I was actually quite fond of her.”
Recalling Toono’s words made his blood boil, pushing him to the brink of madness.
“Toono got her addicted to drugs and forced her into prostitution.”
“That was her way of showing her love for me. She abandoned herself, gave everything—body and soul—to prove her love for me. I told her that, and Haruka understood.”
Bitterness and helplessness mixed within him.
Even if he could rewind time, he doubted he could have stopped Haruka from being drawn to Toono.
“My cousin was killed, caught in the crossfire of a suicidal client.”
His voice trembled despite his efforts to stay composed.
―――Even so… I wanted to save her. I wanted Haruka to live.
Through tear-blurred eyes, Kagura looked at Sanae.
“I’m pursuing Toono Ryouji out of personal vengeance. And I’ve dragged you into it.”
Sanae gasped as though trying to take in everything at once.
Kagura fell silent, peering into himself.
―――What can I do?
Suddenly, the dream he had just seen surfaced in his consciousness like a bubble.
The elevator kept falling. Its cabin burned up and disintegrated, casting him into hell. That’s how it continued. Yet, perhaps because it was too terrible to imagine, all he could see was darkness, even with his eyes wide open.
―――I have to see hell with my own eyes.
No matter how horrific, no matter how laden with truths he didn’t want to accept, he had to fix his gaze on what lay at the very bottom. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to fight in a world without rules.
Even if it meant losing the ‘light’, even if it led to something Zero wouldn’t want.
“I won’t turn back.”
“Kagura-san…”
“From here on out, I’m prepared to stop being a detective. But you—you need to separate yourself from me and protect your own ideals and principles.”
Sanae’s lips quivered, and he bowed his head deeply.
“…I’m calling for reinforcements, after all.”
“As a detective, do you really think that’s the right thing to do?”
Still looking down, with his glasses slipping down his nose, Sanae glared at him through reddened eyes.
“You know this, don’t you? What’s most important right now is to move forward with the investigation into human trafficking and investment scam, to reduce the number of victims—even if it’s by just one.”
“Then… I’ll detain you, Kagura-san, and take you back to Japan.”
Kagura narrowed his eyes.
“As Sanae Suguru, you won’t do that. I trust you.”
“…!”
Sanae removed his glasses and covered the upper half of his face with his hand.
“What is that supposed to mean? That’s unfair.”
Tears streamed down his fingers.
He was unusually perceptive and knew Kagura’s personality all too well, so he could likely predict Kagura’s actions from here on. And he also knew—painfully well—that stopping him would be futile.
Kagura slowly rose to his feet and stood before Sanae.
“Sorry.”
When he placed a hand on Sanae’s head, Sanae leaned forward, pressing his face into Kagura’s abdomen.
After soaking Kagura’s shirt with tears and snot, Sanae tilted his head up and glared at him from beneath damp lashes.
“You’ve made me work so hard for you all this time. Don’t let it be for nothing—make sure you come back safe.”
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Next update: 2025.11.26
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