The Sword Deity in Tokyo

Hayato was totally stunned by his words. "You're going down?"

At this moment, Hayato no longer cared whether Ryoto was a murderer or not. He walked to the side of the arbor and looked down the cliff. The bottom of the cliff was nothing but pitch-black darkness. If it was during the day, he would have felt dizzy at such a high altitude. Fortunately, it was night time now and everywhere was in complete darkness.

"Yes." Ryoto Amagasaki nodded his head solemnly. "I've got a feeling that Daisuke must be somewhere in a cave located in the middle of the mountain. Most probably he is in danger and is trapped inside. Or, he could have died inside the cave. This might be the reason why the police and everyone in Kobayashi Village could not find him for the past two days."

Hayato was at a loss for words now. He suddenly remembered a caustic quote from Mark Twain: "Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't."

All the treasure map, cave, disappearance, murder… Was the scene right in front of him not reflecting the quote? He had lived a normal life for more than 20 years. But now, his best friend had made him witness such an unbelievable moment. However, the truth was right in front of him. This friend of his wanted to climb down the cliff, which was about a 100 meters deep, and yet he was not able to stop him.

"Is this really necessary?" Hayato spoke with mixed emotions after being quiet for a long time. "You mentioned that most probably Daisuke was in a cave located in the middle of the mountain. He could have been careless during his climb and fell to his death. Or, he managed to get into the cave but got himself trapped in danger. Perhaps what you said about the treasure map is true but the dangers inside the cave might have killed Daisuke. If you were to climb down and enter the cave, do you think you can avoid the dangers? We are just normal human beings. Besides, if what you said was true, then the police or the residents of Kobayashi Village might not be able to find this cave."

Who would have thought that Daisuke Kojima had climbed down the cliff from this arbor and went into a cave in the middle of the mountain? This made no sense at all! It would take forever to find him. 

Ryoto Amagasaki sighed deeply. "Everyone faces challenges in life. I've been living an ordinary life for more than twenty years. This will be the first grand challenge of my entire life."

"Speak English!"

Ryoto Amagasaki laughed reluctantly. "If the cave really exists in the middle of the mountain, that means there is a possibility for the treasure to exist. If I manage to discover the cave, I can sell this information to someone else and make a fortune out of it. But of course, I need to get my hands on the bug as I don't want anything to go wrong. If the body of Daisuke Kojima were to be found, Kyoko would definitely break up with me."

Daisuke Kojima had been missing for two days. There was a high possibility that he was already dead. Nobody managed to contact him at all. Hayato could not think of any other possibilities that might befall Daisuke.

"Go on then." Hayato felt that he had nothing else to say since they were already here. If he were to stop Ryoto Amagasaki, he would never listen to his advice for sure.

"Don't worry. If this is really where the treasure is hidden, I will give you a portion of it."

What else could Hayato do? He could only give out a faint smile. But right now, he started to trust Ryoto. After all, Ryoto Amagasaki asked him out to make sure everything goes on the right track, meaning that Ryoto had trust in him. Or else, he could have just untied the rope when Ryoto was climbing the cliff and had him killed instantly. Ryoto must have thought of this possibility as well but he still trusted him and brought him along. So, he had no reason to let Ryoto down.

Perhaps when he gets older in the future, he can share about today's experience to his children. Thinking of this, Hayato stopped worrying and decided to take it easy.

On the other hand, Ryoto Amagasaki was fully prepared. With his safety helmet on and taking a deep breath, he looked down at the bottom of the mountain. It was pitch-dark, like the abyss of hell. He gripped the ropes tightly and his heart was pounding rapidly before he started to make his move. A gust of cold air went straight up to the top of his skull and made him stand rooted to the ground.

"Ryoto, you can do this!" Ryoto Amagasaki encouraged himself in his heart while suppressing his fear. Today would be the day for him to get rich.

Speaking of getting rich, Ryoto Amagasaki thought of Daisuke Kojima again. To be honest, he and Daisuke Kojima were of the same kind. Both of them loved money. However, Daisuke Kojima's affinity for money had reached the point of being obsessive, in which he would resort to unethical means to get money. As for him, he would not be that fanatic.

If he were to really manage to find the cave, he would do exactly as he said previously by selling the information and giving a portion of his earnings to Hayato. He would not be exploring the cave alone because god knows what kind of dangers could be inside it. What's the point of getting the money if you can't live to use it? 

After having all these messy thoughts, his pale face slowly recovered. Ryoto Amagasaki gritted his teeth and gripped the rope. He said to Hayato, "I'm going down now."

"Don't worry, I will guard the area." Hayato nodded with a serious expression.

As soon as Ryoto Amagasaki overcame his mental struggles and calmed himself down, he immediately climbed down the cliff of the mountain.

When Kimura Kazuki witnessed this moment, he did not go out. He wanted to see if Ryoto Amagasaki was really able to find the rumored cave.

Kimura believed every single word that Ryoto Amagasaki said. Although he had yet to reach the Metamorphosis State, he started to be sensitive toward human emotions. And it was not a problem for Kimura Kazuki to detect whether a person is lying or not. He had been listening and observing Ryoto Amagasaki for quite some time. From his point of view, he believed that Ryoto Amagasaki was not telling a lie.

Kimura Kazuki had never thought that Daisuke Kojima's disappearance was related to treasure hunting instead of being murdered by a wraith or a monster.

Kimura Kazuki felt rather speechless. This was indeed something bizarre.

Just as Kimura Kazuki decided to wait for Ryoto Amagasaki's news patiently, he felt a sudden jolt in his heart. His expression instantly became stern.

Someone broke the Detonator Talisman.

The next moment, Kimura Kazuki immediately left without drawing any attention.

If Daisuke Kojima really went missing during the treasure hunt, then anything about Daisuke Kojima was the business of normal human beings instead of his. His main purpose of coming to Kobayashi Village was to search for any wraith or monster.

Being able to detect the direction based on the destroyed Detonator Talisman, Kimura Kazuki arrived at the scene within 10 minutes.

As he approached the scene, he started to hear noises.

"You mentioned that you came here to explore the area?" Makoto Honda's voice was heard with a tone of sternness in it. "You girls came up to Kanayama in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

Just as Makoto Honda finished talking, he saw a young man appear at a distance of less than ten meters ahead of him.

When Harunaka and the others saw Kimura Kazuki, all of them let out a sigh of relief.

"Senpai!" Harunaka looked at Kimura Kazuki pitifully.

Both Katsuki and Yayoi were also relieved upon seeing the approaching Kimura Kazuki. They never thought that they would meet the Firefighter Rescue Team at this late hour.

Kimura Kazuki was having a slight headache upon seeing the other firefighters beside Makoto Honda. He knew that there would be firefighters carrying out their duty at the other areas of Kanayama as well.

"You are?" Makoto Honda was slightly stunned upon seeing Kimura Kazuki who came here on foot. There was deep doubt in his eyes. "Are you their companion?"

"Yes…" Kimura Kazuki nodded.

Looking at Kimura Kazuki solemnly, Makoto Honda pointed at Harunaka and the girls. "I've been keeping an eye on them and I didn't see them contacting anybody."

Kimura Kazuki was surprised to hear that as he never expected Makoto Honda to be such an attentive person.