TBCTW Chapter 21

Chapter 21 – Decoy

Chapter 8, Part 2

Novel Title: 獣はかくしてまぐわう (The Beasts Copulate 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 novels.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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Reaching into the pocket of his coat, Kagura pulled out a folding knife. With a flick of his finger, he snapped the blade into place.

Using a knife against someone with such overwhelming combat prowess was a double-edged sword. There was a high risk of it being taken from him, and it would only provoke the opponent further.

But Toono was so close.

―――…No matter what, I will capture him!

Kagura swiftly slashed at Renjou’s upper arm. Renjou merely laughed and tightened his grip on Kagura’s neck even more.

“Ugh… guh…”

His airway was being crushed, and his vision began to flicker.

Kagura raised his right hand again, blindly swinging it at Renjou. There was only a faint sense of impact.

―――…It didn’t work…

“Aaaaaahhh!”

Suddenly, Renjou let out a scream and leaped off Kagura.

The lights abruptly brightened, and a panicked voice called out, “What’s wrong, Renjou!?” It was one of Renjou’s companions.

Gasping, Kagura looked at Renjou.

The turtleneck around Renjou’s neck was slashed open.

―――…Is that… a lizard?

On the left side of Renjou’s neck, where it was usually hidden, a lizard tattoo slithered into view.

It was familiar.

―――…The same as Toono Ryouji’s…

Toono had an identical lizard tattoo on the left side of his neck. Since Renjou was a devoted follower of Toono, it wasn’t surprising that he would mimic him.

Renjou touched the lizard tattoo on his neck and, seeing the blood on his hand, screamed again.

His eyes flared like they were spitting fire, and he glared at Kagura.

“Renjou’ll kill you.”

Tears spilled from his eyes as he rose unsteadily to his feet.

“Renjou will kill you,” he murmured in a strange, slurred voice before lunging forward, crouched low. Kagura barely managed to roll to the side as Renjou tried to drive a knee into his stomach.

Renjou’s body shot forward like a bullet, kicking off the ground. This time, Kagura couldn’t fully dodge. Renjou’s head slammed into his throat, and his balance broke. Renjou followed up with a relentless series of knees to Kagura’s abdomen.

The impact was so severe that Kagura thought his internal organs might burst. His consciousness wavered.

Falling to his knees, Kagura began to crawl toward the shutter. He didn’t have time to deal with Renjou. But before he could reach it, Renjou grabbed his ankle and dragged him back.

“Need a hand, Renjou?” asked the other man as he ran over.

Renjou, now straddling Kagura’s back, screamed angrily, “Stay out of this!”

Then, his voice turned thin and tearful.

“This man hurt Renjou’s lizard. Renjou is going to break him into tiny, messy pieces.”

“Got it. Then I’ll close the shutter.”

Renjou grabbed Kagura’s hair, pulling his head back. A burning pain radiated from Kagura’s ribs as if they were on fire.

“Renjou’ll break you apart,” Renjou growled.

Renjou then struck Kagura’s head with his brass-knuckled fist. The blow made Kagura’s mind spark, nearly knocking him unconscious.

“Ugh… guh…”

Another blow exploded at the back of his head.

With death flashing through his mind, Kagura’s body moved almost instinctively, inching toward the shutter. But it wasn’t to flee.

―――…Capture Toono. Earn Zero’s trust.

With trembling hands, Kagura reached out, scratching at the floor.

Renjou whispered sickly sweet words into his ear.

“Just die already.”

This wasn’t another taunt—it was a full-force strike meant to end it. 

Amidst the terror of his head being destroyed, Kagura’s blurred vision caught sight of a figure bursting through the gap under the shutter. 

A man dressed in all black kicked off the floor like a beast on all fours.

The figure slammed into Renjou, who had been straddling Kagura’s back, sending him flying. Renjou crashed against the floor with a heavy thud. Before he could get up, the beast-like man lunged at him again. Even as Renjou lashed out with an upward kick, the man didn’t retreat, relentlessly pounding him with his fists.

Kagura, struggling to lift his faltering body, suddenly felt an arm supporting him from the side.

“Man, you guys got way too heated.”

The boy with ash-grey hair—Haiiro—grinned faintly, his pierced lips curling into a half-smile.

As Kagura’s focus gradually returned, he saw Zero mercilessly beating Renjou. His expression was a mix of maddening fury and cold precision. 

Not far away, Renjou’s companion was being restrained by Riki.

Kagura shrugged off Haiiro’s hand and crawled out through the gap under the shutter. The cold night wind stung his wounds like antiseptic. 

He scanned the runway.

There was no aircraft.

Instead, a single man, draped in a long coat over his tall frame, stood on the runway. The man, gazing up at the sky, slowly turned his attention to Kagura.

Staggering into the open runway, Kagura glared at Kiriyama Shungo.

“What… is this supposed to mean?” 

Kiriyama’s eyes, darker than the night, studied the battered Kagura.

“You didn’t die?”

“………”

Kiriyama must have known everything that had transpired in the hangar.

Kagura glanced around and murmured, “Why hasn’t the police made a move…?”

“If you’re talking about Detective Aizawa from Organized Crime, he had a minor accident last night. He’s in the hospital now.”

“…………”

A freezing sensation overwhelmed Kagura.

―――…This man… knows everything.

“Kiriyama is a ‘Non-citizen’,” came Zero’s voice echoing in Kagura’s mind.

The full weight of Zero’s words finally sank in.

“Only a ‘Non-citizen’ can read the moves of another ‘Non-citizen’. You don’t stand a chance.”

This was what it meant to go up against the ‘Non-citizen’. 

They understood every move made by those bound by the nation’s rules as if it were second nature.

Kiriyama drove the final nail into the coffin.

“You served as a perfectly functional decoy.”

“… A decoy?” 

While Kagura had been preoccupied, Toono had effortlessly completed his entry into the country.

The realisation hit Kagura like a blow to the back of the head. Groaning, he fell to his knees, bowing his head. 

It looked as if he were kneeling before Kiriyama.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kagura saw the hangar’s shutter slowly lift. Turning sluggishly toward it, he saw Zero, Haiiro, and Riki emerging. Riki carried Renjou and his companion, one slung over each shoulder.

Zero stopped in his tracks.

Kiriyama, standing nearby, let out a slow, deep breath.

From a distance, Zero and Kiriyama locked eyes.

Kagura felt as if black sparks were crackling between them.

After a silent yet intense encounter, Zero shifted his gaze to Kagura. Without a word or gesture, it was clear—Zero was telling him to come.

Strength returned to his trembling legs, and he managed to stand.

Staggering, he began walking toward Zero.

“Well done, Detective Kagura,” came a mocking remark from behind.

It made his blood boil.

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*Translator’s Note: I think Kiriyama just lets everyone do their own thing, like… if Kagura dies, he won’t even blink. But if he’s alive, then he’ll continue to use him. It’s quite disturbing to think of it that way. Such detachment. Quite sociopathic, if you ask me. -K

Next update: 2025.10.30

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