With his combat readiness greatly diminished, Dazai let go of Hyakki’s hand. Finally, after these days, they had developed some unspoken understanding, and Hyakki wouldn’t pester him to hold hands every day.

Dazai quietly sighed, finding amusement in nurturing a puppet.

Observing their subtle interactions, Six Eyes approached. Suddenly, his trident seemed poised to pierce Hyakki’s skin, but midway, it abruptly changed direction, aiming for his chest instead.

Unfortunately, Hyakki’s flesh was too scarce!

Instinctively, Hyakki tried to resist, but his sense of danger wasn’t strong enough, and his hand was caught by Dazai.

Dazai grasped it briefly before swiftly letting go, creating an opportunity for Six Eyes’ attack. “Hyakki, don’t be afraid. If there’s a problem, I’ll use ‘No Longer Human’ to eliminate it.”

For the first time, Hyakki, trusting in this assurance, was wounded by someone other than a demon.

A hint of crimson appeared from beneath the bandages on his chest.

“That’s enough,” Six Eyes quietly concentrated all his mental strength, determined not to fail. This time, the difficulty was exceptionally high.

As his words fell, Dazai’s heart constricted, and he stared fixedly at Hyakki. The failure of the last “doctor” from the Armed Detective Agency made him unable to trust a second one, even if this one was a cosmetic surgeon. Suddenly, Hyakki strangely covered his face, his body mechanically shaking. The mask slipped from his hands, revealing a new face that replaced the previous grotesque visage.

“A face…?” Dazai exclaimed internally.

Between Hyakki’s fingers, instead of uneven layers of muscles and veins, a skin texture whiter than his fingertips appeared on his face. He had no sensation, no pain, unable to feel the specific changes of the features under his fingers.

He felt unsettled by the unknown.

Without slaying demons, how could he possibly restore his organs?

At this moment, Hyakki was completely unaware that his appearance had been restored. The features adjusted by Six Eyes elevated his beauty even beyond that of the mask. His skin reverted to its original state, hidden beneath the bandages. The prosthetic limbs on his hands and feet seemed to be covered with flesh, no longer cold and stiff, but flexible. His entire body, under the loose yukata, appeared fuller, exuding a sense of “human” reality.

Dazai held his breath, amazed by the miracle created out of thin air by the illusionist.

Even the abilities of healing powers couldn’t achieve this!

Fake, yet so convincing.

Seeing the mask fall, the blunt City Island Dog exclaimed, “What’s going on? Are you wearing another mask on your face?”

Shimomoto Chishu instinctively pushed his glasses up, his heart skipping a beat, but he didn’t voice his deduction.

Inu, he wasn’t wearing another mask on his face.

Instead, he…

He had no limbs, no skin; everything behind the mask might be fake.

“Eyes, ears, touch, smell, taste, these human senses, I cannot restore,” Six Eyes’ pride exceeded that of Marmon by far, he wouldn’t lie in his area of expertise, having accomplished feats surpassing ninety-nine percent of illusionists worldwide, “but in other aspects, I have completely supplemented him with illusions.”

Dazai seized upon a significant advantage instantly. “You mean… his tongue!”

Six Eyes elegantly confirmed, “Exactly.”

Exiting the cycle of reincarnation, Six Eyes, for once without malice towards Hyakki in his hellish state, remarked, “You can now produce your own voice.”

The tongue, the source of sound.

Without a voice, humans cannot communicate normally, cannot be understood by others.

Hyakki, who hadn’t spoken a word in fourteen years, found something new in his mouth, moving his tongue in confusion. He even unknowingly bit down on it, checking if it was edible.

In less than a moment, Hyakki discovered the new organ added to his body.

His hands dropped, unsure of what to do.

The face of the boy, robbed by demons, unable to shine brightly, was now revealed to the world. Inheriting the beauty of his mother, the eldest son of the general of the Tezuka territory, the destined son of heaven, even in the midst of suffering, he surpassed his younger brother Momotaro, who grew up pampered by his parents.

Under his black hair, Hyakki’s features were complete, his pupils lifeless, and his slightly unnatural posture straightened. Those eyes, even without sight, could evoke sympathy and acceptance from ordinary people when bathed in sunlight, clear and bottomless.

He was always deserving of the best.

— Hyakki, the most incomplete yet powerful protagonist of the “Dororo” world.

“Hyakki.”

Dazai couldn’t wait to speak, fully believing that Hyakki’s spirit could hear him. It’s wonderful, he finally arranged for Hyakki to have a communication organ. With Hyakki’s intelligence, he would surely learn to speak!

Hyakki didn’t know how to produce sound. After touching his mouth, he moved to his throat, the strange vibrations reaching his brain, causing confusion. Countless times of calling accumulated and broke through his heart.

“Do… ro… ro…”

The pronunciation in Japanese, without distinction from Chinese, slipped out involuntarily.

Dazai’s face stiffened.

Dororo… what does that mean, mud? Hyakki, did you just expose something?

…

【Oh no.】

【Did Dororo ever mention their name? It seems not…?】

【This is outrageous! We’ve known each other for so long, held hands, even slept together, and Dororo still hasn’t told me their name!】

One didn’t ask, the other didn’t say.

In that instant, the storyline that existed only in Hyakki’s mind faced collapse.