Chapter 51: Two Glitches

The room was spacious, with a single foamy bed and nothing else. He slipped inside and closed the door with a smirk.

Gojin and Sakura soon found their preferences as well, and Ayumi gladly went to prepare the food.

Three hours later, everything was done, and it was time for everyone to sleep. Ayumi returned to her position at the reception area.

…

Kenji was still awake, running his fingers along the blade and staring blankly at it.

“I suppose we might find an Akuma around here,” he muttered as he approached the door and slid it open.

He encountered Sakura and Gojin leaning against the wall, likely prepared for a hunt in this desolate area. Since their arrival, they had suspected an Akuma might be lurking nearby, so they decided to track it down separately.

They stepped out of the passage and into the reception area, where Ayumi was now in her true form—a brown fox with nine tails coiled around her body for warmth and protection. Despite being deep in sleep, it was rare for any Kitsune to not notice others nearby, given their heightened senses. She seemed to be quite below immature at this point.

The two approached the exit door and opened it; it wasn’t locked.

“She should learn how to run a scam better. This is a sell out, as anyone could walk in—late travelers. Well, they would have been devoured by an Akuma before getting here, so who am I kidding?”

Gojin said to Kenji and Sakura, who shrugged in response.

They casually strolled out into the cold night, the moon illuminating their path with a silver glow.

Kenji instantly took off, heading left, while Sakura went right, sprinting into the night. They had agreed not to venture more than 600 meters so they could find their way back to the inn, though that didn’t apply to Gojin.

He grinned and began hopping in place as a blue aura enveloped him, radiating from his left eye through the blindfold.

[Are you sure you want to run at this speed? It’s highly destructive.]

[Use 1,000 DM to suppress potential destruction?]

“Sure, Slave, sure,” he whispered.

[Run!]

“Time to circle the planet with this amazing speed. I love being a glitch in this world.”

Oh, about that “Glitch.”

Gojin had been doing a lot of digging ever since he was young, and he continued this pursuit even now, just before they entered Heian.

The “Levies Slave” was an error incarnate, as it didn’t exist in the original novel and only appeared after Gojin was reincarnated into the story. This made it incompatible with the world, similar to a glitch in the narrative. Its attachment to Gojin labeled him a glitch as well.

He wasn’t supposed to grow in power this quickly, but the “slave” caused everything to unravel as an error.

In short, the original storyline was shifting as Gojin went about his daily life as he wasn’t following the written storyline, many other characters had also deviated since his arrival..

This was both a good and a bad thing; some characters who were not meant to be stronger than they were might exceed their intended limits—though this would be rare.

All of this was why the book tab had been temporarily locked, but it had since been unlocked. Still, he hadn’t received any credible information from it.

Suddenly, Gojin changed his mind, dismissing the surge of absolute speed he had felt moments before.

“I don’t feel like running. I should just go to sleep… but what if they encounter a Grade 1 Radiant Akuma like the last one I faced before coming into this era? That would be tragic. Such a painful waste; I doubt Kurozai would ever want to save Kenji from death’s door.”

Gojin pondered this, resting his chin on his hand while a rough sketch of the situation played through his mind.

Finally, he grinned and declared:

“Since I’m a righteous Saint, I’ll stick around and wait for any trouble from the two.”

A Saint indeed—his lie could cut through infinity, trapping thousands in a mental cage woven from his own history..

***

Kenji slid across the rocky ground, coming to his feet when he heard a sound behind him. He turned around with a determined expression, but found nothing there.

He scowled, then shouted:

“Come on out! I need to sleep, so don’t play tag with me!”

As he scanned the area, his breath caught in his throat. Beside him stood a Grade 1 Exile Akuma.

Quickly, he leaped to a safe distance, extending his blade forward as he landed on the ground.

“This one seems intense! I’ll have to aim for the prominent parts.”

Kenji lunged forward. His experience showed in the fluidity of his strikes as he executed a series of seven swift, damaging slashes against the Akuma. Each cut sliced effortlessly through the Akuma’s form, blood spraying into the air.

It went on as Kenji weaved through its attacks effortlessly, his blade was a blur as it carved through the air. The Akuma retaliated, but Kenji’s agility kept him one step ahead, his movements were precise.

Just as he prepared for another strike, a large, tyrannical tendril suddenly shot up from the ground, hurtling toward him.

“Finally, your death has arrived. Seems so early, though. Well, your loss,” Kurozai mused.

Before Kenji could react, gritting his teeth in determination, the tendril was already dangerously close to his head. In a split second, he decided to change his motion… blood spilled out.

***

“Huh?”

Sakura gasped as she found herself in a hole dug into the ground. While sprinting, she had stumbled upon a trap—an opening covered by leaves. Disoriented at first, she slowly began to collect herself and stood up from the sandy floor.

“Where am I? My head hurts from that fall.”

Sakura rubbed her hands around her head as one of her eyes twitched.

As she opened her eyes wide to peer into the darkness, what lay beyond was unimaginable; the sheer truth of its existence was unbearable. This was—no, this is a…

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