[Sakamoto Days / Gods and Buddhas] Do All Killers Think the Same?

"Mr. Shenshenhui, you're trembling." The Great Buddha tilted her head slightly and smiled. "Are you pitying me? But pity isn't love, is it?"

Shenshenhui caught the scent of rain on the Great Buddha.

The scent of death smelled like love. The Great Buddha smelled like love.

He thought back on his reasons for killing.

Do all killers think the same?

Clearly not. The Great Buddha had always been this way. Shenshenhui didn't understand her; he readily declared her "abnormal."

No, Great Buddha, Shenshenhui thought. Redemption exists, but it isn't for people like us. The best way to avoid being cut apart by a blade is to grip the saw's handle. If we're going to struggle along a bloodstained road, then love should be so violent that we drive our wounds into each other's flesh.

*Written while severely sleep-deprived, with impoverished thoughts, confused reasoning, a despairing state of mind, and a nihilistic outlook.

*Descriptions of bloody scenes often use metaphors. This is purely a narrative style and does not represent approval or glorification of violence.

*The emotions are expressed very obliquely, and the story relies on details and psychological description to progress.

*The protagonist is a killer whose actions are not constrained by traditional morality.

*This is a derivative work based on characters from the original, and its tone differs significantly from that of the source material.

Theme: Why think about "the reasons for killing"? Obviously, because you're killing right now.