Chapter 84

Previous Summary:

Thanks to the efforts of her companions, Lily was successfully rescued, but they found themselves in a dire situation.

Meanwhile, at that time...?

30 ～Lily's Perspective～

...What am I doing here?

Floating alone in the endless darkness, hugging my knees, I questioned myself.

My master is fighting a desperate battle against Takaya Jun, who kidnapped me.

I should be the one protecting my master, but instead, because of me, he is exposed to danger.

My dear sisters are risking their lives to rescue me.

In such a situation, I alone could do nothing.

I felt utterly helpless.

The magical device that bound me was something I couldn't break free from with my own power.

Once trapped, it would take considerable strength to remove that restraint.

While a Gerbera-class being might manage, I had no chance of escaping.

I could do nothing.

Nothing at all...

How long had I been lost in thought?

Here, the concept of time surely had no meaning.

For me now, this place existed solely for me to worry, suffer, and feel my powerlessness.

“Is something wrong?”

Suddenly, a presence appeared in this space, where no one else should have been.

I lifted my head, which had been bowed.

In front of me stood a girl.

In the darkness where no one else had been, she floated as if in water, her flaxen hair swaying, and she faced me with the same face.

Seeing her face... I finally smiled dryly, thinking she had finally come.

“...You're late.”

“Huh? You're not surprised?”

“I thought you would come.”

To her surprised voice, I answered succinctly.

“Did you expect it?”

“Yes, more or less.”

It was clear that this was connected to the strange dream I had seen a while ago.

At the same time, it was easy to tell that this was not just a dream.

“Because I had heard from my master about the incident when he restored Shiran's heart after she became a ghoul.”

When my master tried to save Shiran's heart, he saw an inexplicable space.

What I was experiencing was exactly the same phenomenon he had described.

I could roughly guess why this was happening.

There is a magical connection called a Path between me and him.

It was probably the cause.

Through the Path, I might have entered this space, which is a result of my master's unique ability.

Or perhaps, this space itself is what we call the Path.

While the exact details were unclear... one thing was certain: this place was not just a meaningless dream.

If so, the girl in front of me could not be a mere illusion in a dream.

“You... are Mizuho Mizushima, right?”

With certainty, I asked.

That was the trigger.

“...!?”

With a roaring sound, my body burst into flames.

At the same time, the body of the girl in front of me also turned to flames.

In an instant, we became two lights floating in the darkness.

However, there was a crucial difference in the flames that enveloped us.

While my body was wrapped in red flames, the flames emanating from 'Mizuho Mizushima' were blue-white.

This seemed to indicate that we were fundamentally different beings, and I felt a dark emotion stirring deep within my chest.

“Hmm.”

Holding her hands in front of her, 'Mizuho Mizushima' looked down at her body, which was overlaid with the blue-white flames, and then refocused her gaze on me.

“I am Mizuho Mizushima. Why did you think that?”

She smiled without a care, her eyes reflecting pure curiosity.

She was a girl with such a nature.

Curious, bright, and liked by everyone.

I, who had been wearing her skin, knew her well.

“Isn't it strange that the 'Mizuho Mizushima' you speak of is here in a space that only your master and his followers can visit?”

“No, it's not.”

I shook my head.

“Takaya Jun said that Mizuho Mizushima is inside me. If I can come here, then it's not strange that you, who are inside me, can come here too.”

I couldn't deny what Takaya Jun had said.

Despite his madness, he had seen the truth.

Mizuho Mizushima indeed existed within me.

Her appearance here was proof of that.

If so, what did it mean?

It was likely related to my unique ability as a Mimic Slime.

“I had my doubts. My mimicry ability can reproduce everything about the target. For example, I can mimic the Fire Fang's flame breath attack. But that's not something that should be possible normally.”

I recalled what Shiran had told my master during a night we spent in the pioneer village on our journey from Fort Chilia to the trading city of Seratta.

“The unique abilities of monsters are created by the unique magic power of that monster. Any creature with magic power has a unique flow of magic power, and it cannot be reproduced by anything else. Therefore, it's impossible for other monsters or humans to reproduce the unique abilities of a monster.”

Even ghouls, which are transformed from humans, have a different pattern of magic power from their original human form.

That's why Shiran was concerned about my master's magic power being the same as Gerbera's... but there was something they had overlooked.

I, who had been listening to their conversation, was the exception.

“I can use abilities that I shouldn't be able to use. That means I can reproduce the unique flow of magic power of other monsters. But that's not something that should be possible. So why can I do it...”

It was a bit mysterious to attribute it simply to a characteristic of being a monster.

However, until today, I had no answer to this question.

Humans didn't understand the workings of their own bodies until they dissected corpses.

It was the same for me.

By touching the existence of 'Mizuho Mizushima' within me, I finally understood what kind of being I was.

“Magic power resides in the soul. It overflows and flows from the soul. Each monster has a unique shape of the soul, so the magic power that flows from it is also unique. Therefore, there are two ways to change one's magic power: to change the very nature of the soul, like a ghoul... or to bring in magic power from elsewhere, like my master, who obtained Gerbera's magic power.”

In my master's case, magic power flowed from Gerbera's soul through his unique ability, the Path.

Then, what about my case?

The answer was in front of me: 'Mizuho Mizushima.'

“The essence of my ability... is to 'collect souls.'"

Probably, the soul, which we call the soul, does not immediately dissipate into the space after death but remains in the body for a while.

In areas with high magic power, the lingering soul is transformed and fixed in the body, leading to the creation of ghouls.

When my master touched the body of the ghoul Shiran, he was able to restore her lost mind because the soul in her body was hers.

Moreover, the battles between monsters bring about greater power enhancement than just defeating them.

This is because the lingering soul in the body is absorbed, directly absorbing the magic power that would otherwise dissipate.

However, in my case as a Mimic Slime, it's a bit different.

Instead of absorbing the soul as magic power, I store a part of it within me.

This is the racial characteristic of Mimic Slimes.

The unique abilities I can use through mimicry are derived from the magic power that flows from the souls stored within me.

If so, it makes sense that I can reproduce the unique magic power patterns of other races.

Most importantly, it explained the existence of the girl in front of me.

She was undoubtedly Mizuho Mizushima herself.

And this fact was a blessing to me.

“Mizuho Mizushima.”

I spoke to the blue-white burning 'Mizuho Mizushima.'

“I think I need to apologize to you. After all, I deprived you of your existence.”

“...”

“I know it's unreasonable to ask, but there's one thing I really need to ask you.”

“Ask?”

She tilted her head, and I nodded.

“I need you to help my master.”

Hearing my words, 'Mizuho Mizushima' widened her eyes.

“Shima-kun?”

“Yes. My master is fighting Takaya Jun right now.”

“I know that...”

It seemed 'Mizuho Mizushima' had a good grasp of our situation.

It was a relief. I continued.

“Takaya Jun is a skilled warrior with awakened unique abilities. Even though my master somehow managed to ally with 'Vajra,' Takaya Jun's strength after being cornered was clearly overwhelming. If this continues, my master will be killed soon.”

While he is managing to hold on now, such a precarious situation could collapse at any moment.

“So, you want to help Shima-kun?”

A wry smile appeared on the blue-white burning girl's lips.

“That's quite a bold request, isn't it?”

“It's not bold.”

“It is. Besides, what can a dead Mizuho Mizushima do?”

“I can do it.”

I stated firmly.

To her skeptical face, I slowly began to speak.

“I have many souls within me, including myself. While they are invisible, it's quite rare for a soul to maintain a form and have a separate will like this... but it's not impossible.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Don't you understand? There are two souls with wills within me. So, I don't need to be me, do I?”

Understanding and surprise spread across the girl's delicate face.

“...You mean...”

“Yes.”

Nodding, I said:

“I'll give you everything I have. That way, you can return to the world.”

Using my existence, I would bring the transferer Mizuho Mizushima back to the world.

This was the 'hope' I found in her existence.

“Don't you think this is a good deal for you too?”

“You...”

This was clearly unexpected.

After a moment of silence, 'Mizuho Mizushima' spoke.

“...Even if that's possible, what do you want Mizuho Mizushima to do?”

“To help my master.”

“That's impossible. Don't you remember? Mizuho Mizushima had no power, which is why she had to die. Even if she returns, she can't help Shima-kun.”

“No, that's not true.”

I shook my head.

“Because you are a transferer. You have immense power within you.”

“That's meaningless if it remains hidden. Understand? Mizuho Mizushima never awakened her transferer abilities. ...No, she couldn't.”

“Because the deep desire from the soul was missing?”

“You know, don't you?”

Sighing softly, 'Mizuho Mizushima' shrugged.

“If it were a power that ordinary people could easily awaken, everyone would have unique abilities. To put it bluntly, those who were awakened from the start were either fools, heroes, or monsters. Most of those who awakened later were seeking an escape from despair.”

Another, deeper sigh.

Perhaps she was thinking of someone.

The blue-white flames around her flickered as if reflecting her inner thoughts.

“A few people might have gained power in search of hope... but that's only for the truly strong. Mizuho Mizushima wasn't one of them. That's why she died. If she had the same strong feelings as you, to give up her entire existence for Shima-kun, it might have been different.”

Her voice carried a hint of envy... and I couldn't help but laugh.

“Ha. I'm not good enough.”

I shook my head.

“Should I say it in the past tense, 'I wasn't good enough'?”

“You...”

“I tried my best, though.”

The human body was just a disguise; I didn't need to sleep.

How many times had I spent the night trying and failing after my master went to sleep?

Countless times I tried, and failed just as many times.

Despite all that, I couldn't achieve anything by today.

So, I had to realize it.

“After all, as a fake, there are things I can't reach.”

I held my hands in front of me.

They were not my own hands.

Not just my hands.

This face, this body, this hair, these legs—everything was a fake created by mimicry.

“No matter how much I wished, I didn't have the right. Ha ha. I knew that from the beginning, but...”

I knew I wasn't good enough, but I could try for my master.

I tried, but it didn't work.

It was just a cruel, ordinary story.

“So, I'm entrusting it to the real one.”

“Entrusting?”

My words made 'Mizuho Mizushima' question.

“But, as you said...”

“Mizuho Mizushima has no power to fight? No, that's not true.”

I slowly shook my head.

“Because I won't let your power remain hidden.”

“What do you mean...?”

“I said, 'I'll give you everything I have.'"

I smiled.

“Of course, my feelings will go with you too.”

The burning love, the overwhelming affection.

I would entrust all of this mad emotion to the real one.

“I'm giving up my existence for this. I won't let you say it's not enough.”

The real Mizuho Mizushima lacked the necessary feelings.

The fake me lacked the right.

So, combining the two would be enough.

The logic was simple; all that was needed was resolve.

This way, all the conditions to help my master would be met.

“...Are you willing to go to such lengths to help Shima-kun?”

The 'Mizuho Mizushima' in front of me asked, as if confirming.

“You'll lose everything. Even so...”

“I don't care.”

Without hesitation, I answered.

“That's obvious.”

Sacrificing my existence, Mizuho Mizushima would return to the world.

With the key of my remaining feelings, her abilities as a transferer would be unleashed.

I would lose everything about myself, but I wouldn't lose my master, who was more important to me than myself.

This was the only thing a powerless fake could do.

There was no room for regret.

“So, please, help my master.”

“...”

The blue-white light overlaid with 'Mizuho Mizushima' pressed her finger to her lips, thinking for a moment.

But for her, this was a proposal with no room for choice.

“...I understand.”

In the end, she nodded.

She gave me a reassuring smile.

Ah. My resolve was rewarded.

I was certain my master would be saved, and I felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

“Now, eat me.”

So, I calmly urged her—

“I refuse.”

—Her words froze my thoughts.

◆The color of the lights was mentioned briefly in Chapter 2, Section 31.

Some readers noticed this in the comments.

◆This is the second update.