Chapter 49

Summary of the previous chapter:

Shiran: "......"

Summary of the chapter before last:

Gerbera was about to die off-screen.

Shiran: "......"

31

There’s nothing the Knights can do against Tenji, who has turned into an enemy. To avoid unnecessary casualties, we decided to have them search for him. As a precaution, I left Ayame with them. The small guard was being carried by Kai, wagging her drooping tail. It seemed she was saying, "Leave it to me."

The captain gave a formal bow, and beside him, Kihiko gave a thumbs-up before turning on his heel. The knights followed after them.

Among them was the unconscious form of Sakagami, who had been carried by a knight. He had lost consciousness due to the pain from his leg injuries, and the Knights had retrieved him. We couldn’t just leave him behind to save Shiran, so I had to kill him earlier, but now that’s not the case. If we keep him alive, we might get some useful information later.

In any case, that’s only if our plan works.

After seeing the knights off, I turned on my heel.

Perhaps this is the result of Shiran’s feelings. As she attacks us relentlessly, transformed into a ghoul, Tenji is being pushed away from us. Shiran’s feelings are indeed sealing away the unreasonable violence he wields.

I don’t want her noble feelings to burn out and disappear like a shooting star.

Taking a deep breath and steeling my resolve, I called out to my companions.

"Let’s go."

By passing the ball to Shiran, transformed into a ghoul, we can restore her heart and defeat Tenji together. Considering her special traits and the large-scale battlefield that turned her into an undead monster, such a favorable environment may never come again.

My job is to touch Shiran to connect the pass.

My companions will do their best to clear the way for me. The operation begins.

Leading the charge was Gerbera. She folded her spider legs and leaped from a low, crouched position.

The giant spider, transformed into a white cannonball, burst into the battle between the hero and the ghoul.

"Shaaaaa!"

Surprised, Tenji turned around, and Gerbera kicked him away with great force. She had hoped to end it with that, but it wasn’t that easy. Tenji barely managed to block the spider leg aimed at his face with his straight sword.

"Ugh, y-you...!?"

Even with his cheater abilities, he couldn’t completely negate the full-force attack after gaining distance. As planned, Tenji was separated from Shiran.

However, this is only half the battle.

In a sense, Gerbera had stepped between two fighting beasts. If she focused on one, she would inevitably be slower to react to the other.

Moreover, the current Shiran has no reason. She can’t distinguish between friend and foe and is still in the battle where she fought Tenji to protect us. To her single eye, anyone who interferes with her attack on Tenji is just an obstacle.

"Uaaaaah!"

Shiran’s sword, swung in a wide arc, cut off one of Gerbera’s spider legs. The second slash, coming with the same momentum, was barely stopped by Gerbera’s quick reaction, embedding itself deeply into the thick exoskeleton of the spider.

The sword stopped, but Shiran didn’t.

Using the force of pulling out the sword, her body lunged forward.

There was a metallic clang as their teeth met.

It was a moment that made my blood run cold. Just as Tenji’s neck artery was about to be bitten through, Gerbera’s arm grabbed Shiran’s forehead and held her back.

Her other hand grabbed the blade of the sword, which had been thrust out with a delay, and blood dripped from her torn palm.

"One leg and half, plus an arm. ...But that’s fine."

Gerbera’s beautiful face broke into a smile so captivating that one could be entranced.

The heat of battle made the pure white girl shine even more. Even the blood that flowed seemed to enhance her beauty.

"I forgive you, so you forgive me. What’s a broken neck when you’re already in this state?"

With a powerful throw, Gerbera’s arm sent Shiran flying.

There was a sickening crack as the bones in her neck, under the strain, snapped. Shiran’s body, spinning like a top, crashed into the floor.

Meanwhile, Gerbera, without a glance at the flying Shiran, turned and attacked Tenji.

"...You again?"

"Indeed. I’ll be your opponent. Let’s go!"

While Gerbera kept Tenji occupied, I had to do my job.

Lily and I ran toward the point where Shiran had landed after being thrown.

Shiran’s body, bouncing off the floor and floating in the air, had broken limbs from the impact.

From what I could see, Shiran’s regenerative abilities as an undead monster surpassed even Gerbera’s natural healing. Such damage would be repaired in no time. However, she couldn’t immediately regain her composure. She had dropped her sword. This was our chance.

"Yaaaaah!"

Lily, who had reached Shiran first, thrust her spear, which caught Shiran.

The spear’s tip, embedded in her thigh, pinned her to the floor—though this wasn’t enough to stop a ghoul.

"Uaaaaah!"

Shiran, using sheer muscle power, forced her shattered body to leap up. Moving like a snake, she attacked Lily.

If Lily were human, the fight would have been over. Or, if Shiran had retained her reason, she wouldn’t have made such a straightforward attack.

"I’ve got you."

Lily’s triumphant smile, as she was being bitten by Shiran, turned into a grimace.

Her disguise dissolved, revealing her true form as a slime, and she enveloped Shiran, who was in close proximity.

By the time I caught up with Lily, Shiran was struggling within her semi-liquid body, as if drowning.

Shiran’s abnormal strength as an undead monster couldn’t be fully utilized with her limbs broken. While she couldn’t be restrained for long, it was enough for now.

"Shiran..."

Rushing over, I immediately reached out to touch Shiran.

Only her face was visible, protruding from Lily’s body. The wounds on her face, buried in purple-tinged flesh, were painful to look at...

Just as I thought this, a golden hue spread across my vision.

"Get out of the way, Master!"

The scream came from Lily, who had hastily created an upper body.

Lily’s body fluid splashed onto my cheek. I realized the golden hue was Shiran’s long golden hair. She must have broken free of Lily’s restraint with that body...

"Guh, gah!?"

I instinctively twisted my body.

Despite the repeated damage and Lily’s restraint, even Shiran’s movements were sluggish. The attack missed its mark but still bit into the space between my neck and left shoulder.

"Gii...gk..."

A searing pain shot through my brain.

Physical enhancements through magic are fragile against monsters. My muscles were torn, and blood gushed out. The chill of being eaten alive made my skin prickle.

I swallowed my scream and gritted my teeth.

Forcing my facial muscles to move... I lifted the corners of my mouth.

It was nothing. The plan was a huge success.

To connect the pass with Shiran, at the very least, we needed to touch.

However, the deeper the touch, the stronger the connection. Therefore, the deeper, the better.

Shiran bit into me, and a part of me was swallowed. It was a far more intense exchange of blood than just touching.

We connected more deeply than a mere embrace. Our very existences intertwined. Our hearts were as close as they could be.

Then, my consciousness faded to black.

I felt myself sinking into a deep place.

—Let’s go and reclaim what has been lost.

***

When I realized it, I was floating in darkness.

It was pitch black and suffocating, as if I had sunk into a deep sea.

I couldn’t see or touch anything.

That’s because I didn’t even have a body. Without a body, I couldn’t see or reach out to anything.

But that was a problem.

I hadn’t wandered here by accident. I had come to find something. Therefore, it was meaningless if I couldn’t see.

I tried to perceive the deep darkness.

This was like becoming a light to illuminate the darkness.

Before I knew it, I had turned into a pale blue flame, floating in the darkness.

A human-sized fireball flickered and scattered sparks in all directions. Only then did I notice several other fireballs floating nearby.

A quietly burning red flame, a smaller but lively flame, a two-colored flame of red and blue, a large flame with a white tinge...

There were countless other lights floating in the darkness, but unfortunately, I couldn’t see or sense what was beyond my reach. In other words, this light, which was me, was my vision and sense in this place.

It was a strange place.

When I tried to stretch out my hands, a burst of sparks scattered, and the flames extended into the darkness. In a double image, I could see my hands there.

It was a strange sensation, but it wasn’t surprising, given that I didn’t have two real eyes to see with. Such things were to be expected.

So, when I tilted my head and said, "Oh?" it wasn’t because of the strange double perception. It was because I noticed something concerning in the image I saw.

—There was a small crack in my left hand.

No, upon closer inspection, there were several fine cracks in my body that were hard to see unless I looked closely.

As I focused on my existence, I also noticed that a different red flame was mixed into my blue light.

—What does this mean?

I had my doubts, but dwelling on them wouldn’t get me anywhere. I didn’t even understand what this place was.

Even if I didn’t know what this place was, I understood that I needed to come here for a purpose. So, that was enough. I didn’t know how long I could stay here. I didn’t have time to ponder.

I changed my mindset and began to act.

My destination was a deeper level. I slowly descended into the depths of this darkness.

This space was vast, unimaginably so. It might not even have a concept of an end.

Fortunately, I knew where my target was. A thin, red thread of blood connected me to my destination.

The pain I endured was not in vain. However, this connection could break at any moment. I had to hurry.

I sank, sank, and kept sinking.

Gradually, the presence of other lights around me disappeared.

The darkness grew thicker, and I felt a physical pressure. I feared that my small light might be crushed by the overwhelming mass of darkness. I wanted to surface immediately, but I suppressed the urge and continued to descend.

Eventually, I found my target.

It was a fiercely burning yellow light, and a double image of a burning flame and a girl.

The joy of discovery was short-lived. I couldn’t help but frown at the sight of the girl’s image, hugging her knees and lowering her eyelids, which was severely damaged.

Cracks ran across her body, starting from the deep wounds inflicted by Tenji, covering almost her entire body, some reaching the depth of fissures.

The damaged image of the girl was sinking deeper into the darkness.

Slowly, but surely...

As she sank, more cracks appeared, fissures deepened, and small fragments broke off, drifting in the vast darkness, disintegrating like salt dissolving in water.

In defiance, the girl’s light burned fiercely.

The brilliance of that combustion was a manifestation of her will.

—She can’t disappear yet. She has something to protect.

This resolve kept her image from sinking and shattering.

There was more to it.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed something else mixed into the girl’s light.

Tiny fragments, each too small to form a clear shape, burned fiercely like Shiran’s light. They had an independent will.

Perhaps these were the thoughts left behind by the many people who died defending Cheria Fortress.

Shiran had consumed the magic that filled the fortress, transforming into an undead monster. The magic she consumed was the essence that leaked out when the souls of soldiers and knights who died defending the fortress scattered. It wasn’t surprising if some of the thoughts of the dead remained.

If so, the current Shiran was a crystallization of the noble wish to protect people. She shouldn’t be lost in such a pitiful ghoul form.

With renewed determination, I reached out to the burning image of the girl.

I instinctively understood how to bring her back. The power of the transfer, called a cheat ability in the colony and a blessing in this world, was something I naturally knew how to use. This was true even in this incomprehensible place.

My fingertips touched the girl’s shoulder. —A fine crack ran through my fingertips with a sharp sound.

I gasped.

A thought crossed my mind: "I knew it would be like this."

I think I was only frozen for a moment.

There was a shock, but no surprise. I had known this from the beginning.

This was my power. I instinctively knew what I could and couldn’t do.

And I knew more than that.

From the moment I decided to bring back Shiran’s heart, I had a bad feeling.

Still, I decided to bring back her heart.

I decided to move forward without hesitation, no matter what happened to me...

So, this is nothing new. It’s not a reason to stop.

Without hesitation, I embraced the girl’s image. This also meant spreading my flame to cover her light.

As a result, the girl’s image began to stabilize.

I sighed in relief... and heard a series of crackling sounds coming from my body.

It seemed my image was cracking under the strain. Perhaps it was natural for things that shouldn’t touch to be touching.

It wasn’t fatal.

Unlike Shiran, the cracks were shallow, and her image wasn’t collapsing. This wouldn’t threaten my life.

However, even if it wasn’t fatal, there were things that couldn’t be undone.

This was a one-way journey. Once I took a step down, there was no way back.

This was the kind of event that had happened to me.

Still, I didn’t let go of Shiran. I didn’t want to lose the girl in front of me. I felt it strongly.

—But why do I want to bring her back so much?

—Because she believed in me, an outsider in this world...?

—Yes, that’s one reason.

But it didn’t seem to be the only reason.

When I closed my eyes, I saw Shiran standing against Tenji.

A knight who continued to fight even in death, driven by the desire to protect someone. Her existence was proof that this world wasn’t just ruled by power.

Kato Riku, who had been bullied by Sakagami for a long time and was eventually killed by his scheme, described this world as a place where the strong can do as they please.

I couldn’t deny those words, spoken in a resigned tone.

Because I, too, had been on the side that was trampled by such power. In a way, Kato was like a mirror image of myself.

But Shiran’s existence proved that this world wasn’t entirely merciless.

The sudden and meaningless power that was given to the colony and Cheria Fortress destroyed them mercilessly.

Rampant power can indeed ruin many things. That’s a fact.

But thoughts aren’t just powerless things to be trampled.

If my power can help bring back Shiran, who proved this, then what’s a little cost?

I began to surface from the depths of the darkness, still holding Shiran.

The crackling sounds continued.

Even as I ascended, I had the illusion of falling. I was descending step by step on a staircase I could never return from...

—Do you understand, my lord?

A phrase that was once said suddenly came to mind.

—This is a very dangerous way of thinking. Even someone like me can easily imagine that. If you keep carrying everything...

—Yes, that might be true.

But there are things I can’t give up.

When I decided to protect Kato-san, it felt the same.

Even though I knew it would be inconvenient, I decided to protect her to safeguard something inside me. This time, it’s the same.

I, like Tenji, gained power suddenly.

At first, I thought it was a power to survive in this cruel world alone.

But thanks to this power, I met Lily and the others.

The bonds I’ve nurtured with them are the most important things to me.

That’s why I think...

This power might be an empty, thoughtless force.

But to me, it’s not. It’s filled with the thoughts of me and my followers. I believe that. I want to believe that.

And there’s something I desperately want to bring back with this power.

To betray that wish would be to deny the thoughts embedded in my power.

I can’t do that. Absolutely not.

—Kohei-sama?

The girl’s voice reached my ears as I continued to surface.

Looking down at Shiran in my arms, I saw one of her eyes was open.

Her eyes, filled with a vague light, recognized me. At that moment, the pass between us became solid.

Or rather, it was the other way around. The pass became solid, which is why she woke up. The instability in my body subsided, and Shiran’s disintegration also stabilized. Her light had changed from yellow to red.

—Where is this? ...No, who am I?

Shiran’s tone was dreamy. Her consciousness seemed hazy, and her gaze drifted like waves.

To her, this might have been a dream. This place was such, and she was in a state before waking up.

—Ah, that’s right. I must have run out of strength and lost.

A dry smile appeared on her face, which was cracked