| “ | How cool. You really are cool. Ha ha. I’m not even being ironic, mister. Our industry is full of powers that break the rules, so it’s super cool that you can live there like some kind of samurai! I could never pull it off. I’m hopeless. Completely hopeless. Everything about me is hopeless. I’m trying to do a good job and I have the best possible plan in my head, but it never works out. It all crumbles away in the end. So, y’see… Ha ha. So I can’t hold back here☆ I won’t be safe unless I kill you. | „ |
| ~ Byouki User to Illness Magic User |
Summary
The Byouki User is one of the members of Shinshou Hitsubatsu, a supernatural vigilante group that seeks to punish those who use Youkai and supernatural means to commit crimes. Her role is to use her Byouki to possess the criminal and have them commit another crime, sending the criminal back to court until they finally receive the death penalty.
Powers and Stats
Tier: 10-B physically, at least 9-B with Byouki | At least 9-B
Key: Byouki User | Shadow Copies
Name: Byouki User (Real name unknown)
Origin: The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown (13-14)
Classification: Human, Specialist, Vigilante
Powers and Abilities: Magic, Biological Manipulation, Disease Manipulation, Possession, Darkness Manipulation & Duplication (Can create an army of shadow copies of herself) | Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Curse Manipulation, Disease Manipulation, Reactive Power Level
Attack Potency: Human level physically, at least Wall level with Byouki (Can melt humans down to the bone, can create an endless army of superhuman copies, can make Ranzono Sachi a berserker capable of breaking out of her handcuffs, damage reinforced glass and severely injure Illness Magic User and Oomukade) | At least Wall level (Superhuman strength, can fight the Illness Magic User, the copies continuously become stronger when fighting stronger/fiercer enemies)
Speed: Unknown (Doesn't bother to move during fights as her shadow army does all the fighting for her), possibly Subsonic reactions (Could keep track of the Illness Magic User as he fought her army | Subsonic (Can fight and threaten the Illness Magic User)
Lifting Strength: Average Human | Unknown
Striking Strength: Human level | At least Wall level
Durability: Human level | Wall level
Stamina: Average, practically doesn't waste any energy fighting | Unknown, probably high
Range: Unknown with Byouki possession, her Byouki scan is less than 10 km | Standard Melee Range
Standard Equipment: None notable
Intelligence: Average
Weaknesses: Normal human weaknesses, the calculations for her Byouki army can be disrupted by external interference
Feats/Statements
| “ |
“That’s right. The enemy this time is a Byouki user… They’re an expert in disease and curses, just like you.” Silence fell. A Byouki was a variation of the kodoku created by having poisonous insects kill each other in a jar. That cat Youkai had its origins on the continent and it would possess its target on the command of the user. From there, it would spread the disease and transform the infected into killers. |
„ |
| ~ The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village 06 - Byouki Lore |
| “ |
“For Illness Magic, a Byouki, or any other disease-related paranormal power, the targeting is what matters most. [...] “If they can acquire the location of Ranzono Sachi, they just have to let their disease spread endlessly from a remote location. That means the Byouki user or one of their pawns must be building a personal search system. They’ll be rushing around gathering material for that, so I can capture them if I cut them off. If it’s the user themselves, I’m done. If it’s a subordinate, I just have to get them to talk.” “In other words, you have to see your target to attack?” “Of course.” |
„ |
| ~ The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village 06 - Byouki needs to visualize her target in some way to use her supernatural powers on them |
| “ |
“Sure thing. …But I have on piece of advice for you. Be careful how you handle any prisoners you take. Get careless and they’ll melt away.” “?” “I mean that literally. The Byouki person has put something inside their subordinates. I’ve tried threats, negotiation, bribes, and brainwashing, but their body always melts away as soon as they choose betrayal. That’s the real problem that’s kept me from getting any information.” “I see.” There were countless types of mold and germs that would grow in the human body. The Trichophyton fungus that causes athlete’s foot is a good example. If they were given an extreme boost with paranormal power, they could become a biological weapon that dissolved the human body to the bone. [...] The ritual itself was not difficult. After reciting a ceremonial curse, the illness hidden in her body was transferred to the vegetable. Once it was over, she looked down at her chest suspiciously. “Did that really do it?” Instead of answering, I tossed the infected cucumber toward the kitchen window. The impact broke it in two and the transparent glass was instantly covered in white hypha-like threads. It was like a bomb made of slime mold. |
„ |
| ~ The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village 06 - Byouki can plant disease inside people that triggers only on specific conditions, for example, betraying her organization. These disease can cause human bodies to quickly dissolve/melt down to the bone |
| “ |
Had the Byouki arrived ahead of me? I jumped down to the rocky area and approached the vehicle that had not just fallen on its side but was stuck between two large rocks. First, I used my Illness Magic to corrode the reinforced windshield that had turned pure white from all the cracks. After dragging the driver out, I circled to the back and destroyed the steel door as well. Including the driver, there were three police officers inside. Their uniforms were all soaked red with blood. But that was all. There was no sign of Ranzono Sachi who should have been restrained inside. [...] What kind of injuries were these? I had initially thought the fall from the road had done it, but I was wrong. Their necks and chests had been torn into in one centimeter wide bands. A blunt injury would not cause that. They had been ripped and torn almost to the throat. [...] Ranzono Sachi charged toward me like a carnivorous beast and leaped toward my windpipe. Fresh blood sprayed out. I had immediately sacrificed my right arm. I heard an unusual tearing sound while I used a charm and Illness Magic to shut down the pain. I swung my arm and her small form flew like a ball, but she skillfully flipped around in midair, regained her balance, and carefully landed on the unstable mountain rocks. I heard a growl that shook the blood gathered deep in her throat. She had to have originally been a simple young girl. She looked quite different from the picture in the documents I had seen, but even children wore makeup these days. If I peeled it all away, I would probably find the face I had seen. But… Even that had been blotted out by an animalistic expression. The girl lowered her hips and let her arms dangle down like a predator crawling on all fours. Had Ranzono Sachi done this? It did make sense. The police officers’ injuries had looked like they were torn with human fingernails. Then had the vehicle crashed because she had gone on a rampage inside? I could see she had broken her handcuffs, despite her slender frame. The bizarre silver bracelets shined dully on her wrists. That was when the answer hit me. “The Byouki.” A Byouki was a cat Youkai from the continent that was created in a Kodoku ritual, a powerful curse made by placing countless poisonous insects in a single jar and having them kill each other. Its primary power was to apply a variety of diseases to whoever it possessed. Or it drove them insane and made them kill indiscriminately. The term “Toori-Ma” was used to describe normal criminals in modern times, but it originally referred to a paranormal phenomenon. A Toori-Ma was believed to possess people and cause them to commit unthinkable crimes. [...] Ranzono Sachi was not the sort of Toori-Ma talked about in tabloids. Her power and desire to destroy had been amplified by a paranormal being known as a Byouki. The fact that her appearance and physical strength did not match was obvious enough from the cruel gashes in the police officers and the handcuffs broken with her bare hands. [...] Each time the girl growled, drool flowed from her mouth like a starving animal. The Byouki, a type of Toori-Ma, would possess people and reveal their violent side. [...] The girl’s speed completely outdid the Youkai’s. Ranzono Sachi moved entirely outside his field of vision and approached from his blind spot. She charged at his long body and bit down into his repulsive body. [...] Afterwards, only her shadow stretched unnaturally out from her. No, it was the Byouki that had possessed her in the form of a shadow. |
„ |
| ~ The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village 06 - Ranzono is infected with the Byouki, turning her into a mindless savage that attack others nearby. Infected people also display superhuman strength and speed, being faster than a Youkai like the Oomukade and strong enough to snap metal handcuffs and easily kill other humans with their bare hands |
| “ |
A great roar burst out. Dark shadows swept out in every direction from the Byouki user’s feet. They instantly swallowed up the entire surface of the ground, transforming the entire forest into her territory. The trees began to rustle like the mountain itself was talking about me behind my back. “I hate when things get all bogged down, so I’ll explain everything from the get-go, mister.” As the entire world throbbed and pulsed eerily, the Byouki user kept her sparkling eyes on me and opened her mouth. “My Byouki is pretty smartly made. Simply put, even if I don’t manually set it up, it’ll find its own targets. It will search for whoever I consider my enemy and automatically produce the quantity and quality of Byouki needed to defeat them.” With a sound like slurping mud, shadows, shadows, shadows, and more shadows rose up all around me. Masses of illness that looked just like the girl filled the world in no time at all. There were so many that numbers like one hundred or two hundred were useless. “So it doesn’t matter how hard you work, mister. The cleverer you get, the more Byouki there will be and they’ll wear you down with their numbers. The Byouki will multiply endlessly until they’ve torn you to pieces with their long claws. Do you understand the rules now?” [...] “Oh, c’mon. Didn’t I tell you getting serious would only create more Byouki?” [...] With an army of thousands…no, tens of thousands at her beck and call, the girl transformed from soldier to commander. She claimed to be supplied with exactly the fighting force she needed. If that was true, there was no way for me to win. No matter how much strength I mustered, I was destined to fall to my knees here. |
„ |
| ~ The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village 06 - The Byouki user can create an army of shadow copies of herself that automatically search and attack whoever she considers an enemy. The more powerful the enemy, the more powerful and more numerous the shadow copies will be |
| “ |
The only sound was the constant one of my blade beheading my enemies. I had already cut down more than five hundred Byouki, but the user remained unfazed. She giggled and spun around on the spot. Something like black smoke erupted in every direction from her feet and double the number of enemies I had defeated appeared. |
„ |
| ~ The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village 06 - Byouki User can easily replenish any losses suffered by her army of shadow copies |
| “ |
A moment later, a giant mass of metal fell toward the Byouki user. “!?” For the first time, she gave a look of surprise and swung her arms. A mass of blackness immediately wriggled upwards and tore apart the blunt object that would have crushed her. Then she realized what it was. “An aerial bomb!? But from where!?” |
„ |
| ~ The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village 06 - Byouki User uses her shadows to stop a bomb |
| “ |
“My Byouki scans for a target or hostile element and automatically supplies the appropriate fighting force, so all I have to do is stand here.” “But your scan has a range,” said the Hishigami woman. “It can’t reach ten thousand meters up in the air. …So Illness Magic-chan, the Byouki equation has fallen apart. You’d better live up to the young lady’s expectations.” |
„ |
| ~ The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village 06 - Byouki's automatic defense has a range limit |
| “ |
It was the Byouki User. The girl wore a short, yellow China dress, a jacket with cat ear decorations on the hood, and bandages seemingly placed randomly along her face and one leg. She used a Byouki, a variation of Kodoku. That fear was automatically mass-produced to the level required to kill her target. [...] Black shadows stood up as she screamed at him. Each one was a symbol of disease and pestilence. A scratch from one of their claws would cause one’s entire body to foam up, rot away, and have its protein boiled from within by an intense fever. But even as hundreds and thousands of the Byouki surrounded him, the man’s expression did not change in the slightest. |
„ |
| ~ The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village 07 - The shadow copies of the Byouki can kill people with just a scratch of their claws |
| “ |
The surrounding battles were gradually coming to an end. Most of them were ending in Hyakki Yakou’s favor. With less of a burden on the Venom Clairvoyant, she could divert more of her resources this way. In other words, the accuracy of the “eyes” borrowed by the Illness Magic User increased considerably. His glowing sword had been slicing through the countless Byouki shadows as they automatically appeared, but he started doing far more than that. After a great sound, his body slipped between the countless Byouki and shot like a missile toward the girl using them. He no longer had to spend time defeating them before advancing. He took the quickest route to her. It was true the Byouki would automatically calculate out the number needed to kill its target and produce the necessary amount. That meant no human or Youkai could defeat the Byouki User, but the arrangement of Byouki was not even. The calculation was for how to win by sending all of the created Byouki toward the target and cutting off their escape route, so she never would have expected the target to slip through that checkmate arrangement. However, he slipped through the gaps. By moving right up to the Byouki User, he could ignore the overwhelming numbers. It was much like using a sharp icepick-like blade to stab through the gap in the joint of a thick suit of armor and destroy the enemy’s weak point in a single blow. |
„ |
| ~ The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village 07 - Byouki User's automatic shadow army is limited by external interferences |
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
- Byouki: The Byouki is a cat Youkai from the continent that was created in a Kodoku ritual, a powerful curse made by placing countless poisonous insects and dangerous beasts in a single jar and having them kill each other. Its primary power is to apply a variety of diseases to whoever it possesses.
- Melting Humans: The Byouki User can use her Byouki powers to dissolve/melt people down to the bone. She implanted her Byouki into the other members of her organization so that it automatically activates and kills them if they decide to reveal the organization's secrets.
- Toori-Ma: The term “Toori-Ma” is used to describe normal criminals in modern times, but it originally referred to a paranormal phenomenon. A Toori-Ma is believed to possess people and cause them to commit unthinkable crimes. As a type of Toori-Ma, the Byouki can possess people by entering their shadow, drive them insane and reveal their violent side by making them kill indiscriminately. Those affected by it will enter a berserk state and attack anyone who gets close. This can be used in conjunction with a special search system to remotely target someone using a radio interception program, though this system requires something to lock to, such as the electromagnetic waves sent out by a vehicle’s robot brakes.
The Byouki User and her army
- Shadow Army: Even if she doesn’t manually set it up, her Byouki will find its own targets. It will scan her surroundings and search for whoever she considers an enemy and automatically produce the quantity and quality of Byouki needed to defeat them. When the Byouki is activated in this manner, dark shadows sweep out in every direction from the Byouki User’s feet. The shadows instantly swallow up the entire surface of the ground. The covered surfaces seem to throb and pulse before countless shadow copies of the Byouki User rise from the ground. She can create tens of thousands of copies to form an overwhelming army in an instant. She easily replenishes the losses suffered by her army, as shown when Illness Magic User managed to cut down five hundred copies only for her to instantly create one thousand more. The stronger her enemy is and the fiercer it fights against the army, the more Byouki will be produced and the stronger they'll be. This will continue until the Byouki wears down the enemy with its endless numbers and tears them to pieces. However, external interference will disrupt the Byouki's equation and may create a gap in her army.
- Cursed Claws: Each of the shadow copies is a symbol of disease and pestilence. A scratch from one of their long claws will cause one’s entire body to foam up, rot away, and have its protein boiled from within by an intense fever.
Notable Matchups
Notable Victories:
Notable Losses:
Inconclusive Matches: