Free Durarara!!, Vol. 1 (novel) by Ryohgo Narita Page B

holes in it, and the womenknew they could argue back if they wanted. But their minds were ruled not by suspicion, but by terror—that no matter how they argued back, words would have no effect on this creature with them.
    “But…that’s…that’s just what you think!” one of them boldly exclaimed, but Izaya’s smile only devoured her words.
    “Exactly. I don’t know for sure. I just think that there’s no afterlife. If it turns out that there is, hey, lucky me. That’s as much as I care about this.”
    He laughed mechanically and continued, his voice even brighter than before.
    “But you two are different. You only half believe in an afterlife. Does your religious sect promote the act of suicide and tell you that dying is a good response to career or romantic
failure
? If that’s the case, I’m fine with it—I might even admit it’s admirable of you. But if not, you should shut your damn mouths.”
    He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head as if seeking agreement, then leisurely uttered the finishing blow.
    “You shouldn’t speak of the afterlife when you only half believe in it. That’s slander to the afterlife. It’s an insult to those people who were driven to death by the evil intent of others when they didn’t really want to die.”
    It was only a few seconds. But to the two women, it felt much longer.
    In that brief, eternal moment, Izaya shut his eyes again—and when they opened, he was back to that original reassuring grin.
    The air surrounding him completely different from just moments ago, Izaya changed the topic to something else, to the surprise of the paralyzed women.
    “Ha-ha-ha, so anyway… When I was asking about your plans after death, I was referring to your money.”
    “…What?”
    “I do hate for things to go to waste. Now, they’re pretty strict about insurance claims these days, so that’s ruled out, but you could go and borrow all the money you can, then give it to me before you die, right? Your deaths might be in vain, but at least your money won’t be. Plus, there’s a lot of value in your bodies and identities. I know where to go to make deals like that.”
    Unlike his terrifying smile from earlier, Izaya’s current smile was warm and human. The things he was saying were faithfully, recognizablyhuman in their greed. The women were about to speak, but once again, he cut them off.
    “Question one: Why am I sitting in the spot closest to the door?”
    Izaya was practically blocking the door in his current seat. The women were suddenly filled with a completely different kind of fear. If his previous smile was that of a devil, this one was concentrated human malice…
    “Question two: What are these wheeled suitcases under the table for?”
    The women had not noticed, until he pointed it out, that on the other side of the table from them were two large suitcases. They looked like the kind one would pack before a long overseas trip.
    “Hint one: The suitcases are empty.”
    Both women were struck by an awful foreboding. They had never met before this event, but the similarity of their reactions to Izaya made them kindred spirits.
    “Hint two: the suitcases are
just your size
.”
    An unbearable nausea swept over them. It stemmed from disgust at the man with them, but the unexpected onset of dizziness was not related.
    “?!”
    “What…the…?”
    By the time they noticed something was wrong with them, it was too late to even stand.
    “Question three: If the two of you work together, you should be able to get past me to safety, so why can’t you? Hint: I handed you your cups.”
    The world spun, spun, spun. Izaya’s voice seized what remained of their fading wits. His soft, gentle coos and chirps ushered them into darkness like a lullaby to a baby.
    “It’s love. I don’t feel any love in your deaths. And that’s wrong. You must love death. You don’t have enough respect for nothingness. And I’m not going to die with you after a sorry answer like