Chapter 18 Late Night Date
Sitting at the dining table in the living room, Hikigaya chewed his food slowly. The turmoil of the day seemed to have left no impact on him.
Across from him, Hikigaya Komachi had no appetite at all, wearing an expression like she had something to say but was holding back.
She had been overjoyed when she saw her brother during the day, immediately sharing the news with their parents, who had been grieving over their son's disappearance for the past six months.
But she quickly realized that things weren't so simple.
Her brother had completely changed—he was even more silent than before.
She had been the only one excited at the reunion. All he did was pat her on the head and say, "It's good that you're okay."
That wasn't right at all. He was the one who clearly wasn't okay.
What on earth had happened? Why wouldn't he say anything?
"Don't ask."
Komachi heard her brother's calm voice in her ear.
She widened her eyes and looked over, only to see the helpless and tender expression in Hikigaya's eyes.
That look defeated her. It had always been like this. No matter how twisted or strange others thought Hikigaya Hachiman was—difficult to deal with and solitary—she, as his little sister, could always feel his sensitive heart.
He was just afraid of getting her hurt.
The only one he could trust was her. Though he never said it, she had always been happy because of that.
"I can't tell you. I can't tell Mom or Dad either. Do you understand?" Hikigaya put down his bowl and chopsticks and looked seriously at Komachi. "Dwelling on this won't do any good. It'll only bring you trouble. Things like this probably won't happen again. Just trust me."
Words like that were hard to believe, but Komachi was willing to believe them.
Because the Hikigaya Hachiman of the past had never lied to his family.
So she believed that no matter what, now or in the future, he never would.
"Komachi understands!" She wiped her tears, cheering herself up inside, and put on a happy face. "I'll talk to Mom and Dad. Stupid big brother, you just be the same idiot as always! Rely on your capable little sister!"
"Mm."
Hikigaya nodded and picked up his chopsticks again, slowly resuming his meal.
After dinner, he quietly cleared the dishes, joined his sister in washing and cleaning the kitchen.
The process was silent, but warm.
Then, just like half a year ago, the siblings did homework and watched TV together before going to their rooms to sleep.
The only difference was, Hikigaya didn't actually go to sleep.
After waiting a while, he picked up a ceramic jar, opened the window, and jumped out.
Half a year of hellish training had made his body light and agile. He landed without a sound, not disturbing anyone nearby.
He looked up—Komachi's room was dark; she must be asleep.
Hikigaya turned away, vaulted over the wall, and walked along the road for a while until he met the people he was scheduled to see tonight.
A dozen Egyptians clad in black robes stood there. Their faces were obscured, but their gazes were like poisonous snakes.
"You finally came. Thought you might run," one of them said with a sinister grin upon seeing Hikigaya.
"I don't break promises. That's a virtue my master is very proud of," Hikigaya replied calmly, looking at them.
Their breathing was steady and their postures firm—clearly trained in martial arts.
But more than that, they were also sorcerers.
Tonight, they would summon the god their ancestors had worshipped for generations.
This god was the dream prey of the Demon Fist God, and also Hikigaya's only chance at survival—he had no choice.
But no matter what happened, no matter how out of control things became, he would never give up his chance to live. He would fight to the end.
"Let's go." One of the Egyptians turned around. "We've kept our word as well. Hurting ordinary people doesn't show our strength and isn't necessary. So don't worry."
"I'm not worried," Hikigaya followed them. "Besides, if you break your promise, you're not leaving this country."
The Egyptians all turned to glare at him in unison.
But they ultimately held back. In their eyes, Hikigaya was already a dead man. There was no point in getting angry at a corpse.
Silently, the group moved swiftly, darting through the streets and alleys.
Eventually, they stopped—two men stood ahead.
One was Seth. The other, Hikigaya didn't recognize.
"You're here? Then let's go," said the unfamiliar man.
He suddenly appeared beside Hikigaya and placed a hand on his shoulder.
The ground began to tremble. Yellow sand lifted from the earth.
"Don't move, or who knows where you'll be teleported to," Seth suddenly warned.
Hikigaya, who had been about to shake off the hand, obediently stood still.
Soon, everything in front of him was swallowed by drifting yellow sand.
The sand moved like water, flowing all around. After a while, it suddenly dispersed.
The ground beneath Hikigaya's feet was now a coastline, and in front of him lay a calm sea. Light from a coastal city stretched across the distance, reflecting on the surface. The once dark waters shimmered with faint, colorful glows.
Hikigaya recognized the place—it was Tokyo Bay.
So, this was where they planned to summon Set.
In ancient Egyptian belief, Osiris represented the Nile River, Isis represented the black soil of the delta, and Set stood for scorching dryness.
But that didn't mean they viewed all water as belonging to Osiris.
Egyptian priests saw Osiris as the embodiment of moisture—life's source, the power of reproduction, and the essence of growth. Everything damp was believed to be brought by Osiris, meaning freshwater specifically was Osiris's domain.
By contrast, the sea—though also water—was treated with sacred fear. It couldn't be drunk or used for irrigation and had no resemblance to nature's cycle. It was the opposite of Osiris's moist nature.
They called the ocean "Set." To them, seawater was as useless as desert sand—Set was the origin of all that was dry, burning, and desiccated.
They even called salt "Set's foam," banned it from the dining table, and refused to speak to sailors from the sea. For the same reason, they hated sea fish, believing them to symbolize hatred.
From that perspective, the Egyptians' choice of this place made sense. In their belief system, offerings to the gods had to be what the god loved. Since Set symbolized dryness and desolation, summoning him by the sea wasn't illogical at all.
Thinking this, Hikigaya almost wanted to laugh.
To be pondering such things at a moment like this—his mental state was better than he'd thought...