Author's Note: "Nice."

  Kibishi's POV

  It worked. I managed to cut through the clouds of smoke without any problems.

  Of course, this wasn't my accomplishment either.

  I would have to thank Tao and the others for giving me such an opening.

  If it weren't for them, then I wouldn't have had this opportunity at all. Thinking about that reminded me of the pn that I had told Jir and Riley a few minutes ago...

  Fshback

  "You want me to do what?!" Jir widened her eyes as she took a step back.

  "I want you to slow down my heart for me. That way, my powers can be triggered after I 'died' due to my heart stopping."

  "Are you crazy?! That's stupid! That's nonsense! That's... that's...! Argh, it's something that is reted to your stupidity!" Jir held her head as she looked at the sky. She then pointed at me with an angry expression. "Are you really THAT stupid?! Supernatural or not, once your heart stops, that's it for you! No second chances, no second life, no nothing! You'll be dead! Finished! A third thing that is reted to death!"

  "..." I remained silent with a calm expression.

  "Don't give me that cool guy look! Listen, you're insane! You're not normal! Why in the world would you WANT to die?! Are you mentally ill?!"

  I slowly looked at Tao, Kuma, and David, who were trying their very best to keep the monster in the cloud of smoke at bay. From here, I could tell that they were doing their best to keep it distracted. Or, were they trying to beat it with their own hands?

  Either way, this was my only option.

  "Listen to me. I know that I'm an idiot. I won't deny that what I'm saying will most likely kill me. And the fact that I'll be dead without any success is such a huge risk. But then, that's where my trust comes into py with you two."

  I slowly took a step forward and rested my hands on each of Jir's shoulders.

  "In case this pn fails, and I end up dying like the damn idiot I am, you two can continue with the pn, okay? This way, at least Tao and the others have a chance to live out their lives."

  Jir slowly raised her brows at me.

  By the look on her face, I could tell that she had never heard such stupidity in her life. And frankly, she was right. I was stupid. Stupid enough to use my life as a gamble such as this.

  But what choice did we have?

  We had to do something, right? And maybe, just MAYBE, dying could lead to unlocking more of my powers. And hey, you never know unless we try, right? Besides, we were going to die if we somehow screwed up the pn.

  "Anyway, I need you two to do that for me. Can you do this, Jir? Can you slow down my heart rate so that I can unlock my death powers?" I asked with a warm smile.

  Jir suddenly stared daggers at me.

  Uh-oh. It seemed like she was upset at the fact that I wanted to use my life as a gamble. And as much as I didn't want to make anyone mad, I had to do this. And they might be forcing it on Jir since she's a magic user and can do that type of thing, but we had to use everything on our table in order to bring victory!

  Even if it costs me my life!

  "So-!"

  "I disagree," Riley said in a pyful voice.

  I looked at her and saw Riley looking angry at me, too. She then folded her arms at me. "Are you crazy, Kibishi? You can't stop your heart rate like it's nothing. Why in the world would you ask Jir such a thing?!"

  When did Riley start calling her that?

  Maybe it was the cold of the wind blocking my mind since I couldn't really focus a hundred percent right now.

  Either way, we didn't have much of a choice. It seemed like I had to convince Riley in order to get this pn done-

  "Don't try it. I won't be convinced. Not this time, Kibishi!" Riley wagged her index finger at me like some kind of mother.

  I leaned back. I was shocked at how fast Riley could read my mind before I could even act. Damn it, what now? If I couldn't use my life to unlock my powers then how could I?

  Think Kibishi think!

  What could I do to activate my power?

  Hmm....

  Now, let's see...

  If they didn't want to do the easier route, then maybe I could do the difficult one, I supposed.

  With that conclusion, I looked at Jir.

  "Right then. If you don't want to stop my heart, then why don't you lower my nerves' activation?" I suggested with my brows lowering.

  "What?!" Jir jolted at the suggestion.

  "Listen, we don't have much time. By the looks of things, us standing here like statues while Tao and the others are fighting for their lives won't do us any good. And I know for SURE that none of you will do the first favor I asked of you."

  Right.

  Despite Riley having the same mindset as me- no. BECAUSE Riley had the same mindset as me, of course, she would reject my suggestion from the jump. Of course, Jir would definitely reject it since she didn't understand that exact mindset.

  And we were running out of time here.

  I would rather finish my pn than argue.

  "At any rate, Jir, I want you to nullify my nerves so that I don't feel pain. Riley, I want you to heal Tao, Kuma, and David so that they can stay awake for a little while longer." I pointed at the monster with the cloud of smoke after saying my piece. "I will cut down that cloud of smoke and bring an end to all of this..."

  "Kib, you're insane. Not even you can do anything to it..."

  "We never know until we try..." I whispered as I turned around and got myself ready to attack when the opening was right.

  Step. Step. Step.

  I heard footsteps coming closer to me. It seemed like Jir and Riley would follow my pn after all. I felt something cold touch the middle of my back. This must be Jir's small hands that could fit into mine if I held hers.

  Somehow, having that thought of Jir's adorable hands made my heart warm up a bit.

  It was good to have friends who had your back sometimes.

  I heard a deep sigh, and then out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jir's face close to mine. The grip of hers tightened a bit as I could see the sadness in her eyes.

  "Listen to me, Kib. This spell will only st for 20 minutes. Any more than that, and you'll be completely shut down, and you won't be able to feel anything for an entire week. That includes meal times. Your tongue won't be able to taste either. Are you okay with that?" Jir warned me.

  Well then, that was a huge risk. But only a week if I somehow managed to get out of this alive? Alright then, I would take it.

  "Sure," I simply nodded, and Jir slowly closed her eyes.

  "I see. Very then... good luck..." Jir whispered before slowly moving her head away from my sight. I then caught Riley in my sight, and I looked in the opposite direction.

  "You know, these spells might be permanent if you take too long to beat this monster..." Riley whispered with worry in her tone. Her eyes weren't making me feel any better either. They were full of a hint of despair and conflict. Not to mention, I could see sorrow in them as well. Seeing them almost made me regret my decision. But I swallowed my regret and nodded to Riley without a word.

  Riley seemed to get the message and deeply sighed in depression.

  "Don't die out there, okay? David, Tao, and I will never forgive you if you did..." With that st piece of words, Riley disappeared from my sight.

  But despite that, the two of them remained by my side.

  I then felt something warm surround a small area in the middle of my back.

  Wong!

  Before long, I could no longer feel the coldness of the weather. Not to mention, the warmth of Jir's hands or the grip of my knife. I supposed that meant that I could start the pn.

  I slowly raised my knife and started to pick where to strike the monster. Luckily, I saw David and Kuma trying to attack the monster beforehand. And unsurprisingly, the attack phased through. It wasn't long before Tao tried to attack as well.

  Unfortunately, the attack missed as well.

  But then, with a surprise attack from Tao, she seemed to get the jump and swiped her sword at the monster's cloud of smoke. Soon after, though, her body started to fall. The grip on her sword was slipping as Tao's body was aiming for the white floor that was full of smoke.

  I then saw the monster slowly turn toward Tao and raise its cw to do the finishing blow to my best friend.

  "...!"

  I widened my eyes.

  I tightened the grip on my knife. I ground my teeth. I lowered my body some more. I used my free hand to touch the ground.

  It was time.

  The attack count was three. The monster shouldn't be able to dodge another attack if we were right about it. I slowly lifted my head as I felt my eyes burning.

  "Ah. So you have chosen death..." I said in a deep and cold voice.

  Fwooossshhhh!!!!

  The whole world suddenly turned dark. I could see fmes on each and every one that I knew. Fmes with orbs inside of them. The monster also had one as well. I scanned the monster a bit more and then found the spot that I wanted to cut.

  "The right eye...." I whispered.

  I lightly leaned forward-

  Ssh!

  Before the monster or even I could process what had just happened, I already ended up on the other side of the field in a matter of seconds. Leaving a trail of purple fmes around the cloud as it was "burning" while I held on to my best friend's body with one hand, bridal style....

  Present

  After that, the cloud disappeared as the right eye exploded, and now the monster was in full sight.

  I looked back and saw Riley and Jir healing everyone who was fighting the monster tonight.

  Good.

  Now I could do my part at st.

  I raised my knife near my face.

  "Show time... monster..." I said coldly.

  I, Kibishi, would sy you and stop you from harming any more people around this area. Even if it would cost me my life, I would beat you!