The memories are all jumbled up.
Is it because of the mirror? My memories from my previous life and this life are all mixed together, making it hard to focus.
But still, it’s better than just a moment ago.
What kind of situation is this? I definitely feel like I was rising into the sky earlier.
I turned my gaze.
No, is it more accurate to say I looked with a different eye? My senses felt off. My body felt tied up here and there.
Forcing my gaze, I could see my body bound everywhere.
…My body? Is this mine?
“…….”
Ah, I see. I had melted into that mass.
“Koto Ne!”
Someone called my name.
I turned my gaze.
Someone was holding up a mirror towards me. The white and red clothes were a mess now. They were covered in dirt here and there, and it looked like blood was seeping out from wherever they rolled.
But the arm holding the mirror didn’t shake.
Reflected in the mirror was a white light. That light was supposed to show me my essence. Ironically, my current appearance didn’t reflect at all.
What’s there…
I reached out my hand.
My hand slowly extended from the flesh. It felt strange, like I was squeezing out slowly from something soft inside, and like I was forcing my way out of the crevices.
The figure reflected in the mirror was—my figure.
Not my appearance from my previous life, nor some incomprehensible divine form, but the appearance of ‘Kurosawa Koto Ne’.
I don’t really know why that is called my essence.
Is it because I perceive myself that way, or is it because the people around me see me that way?
However, one thing was certain.
I liked that appearance.
Even though it was a body I hadn’t used for even a year, and in some sense, an uninvited guest, I still liked it.
Because there were only good memories with that ‘Kurosawa Koto Ne’.
Like the memories of my family that I never forgot until the end.
My hand touched the mirror.
As soon as my fingertips touched the ‘me’ on the other side of the mirror—
Crack, crack.
I heard the sound of something breaking.
It felt like the bindings from behind were coming loose.
My feet touched the ground.
“……Ah.”
Only after my gaze lowered a little more could I see Kagami hidden behind the light coming from the mirror.
“Ah….”
Kagami, seeing me, was shedding tears.
“…….”
I turned around.
There were Yuka and Koko.
Both of them were staring at me, slightly dazed.
How do I look?
With my hair floating towards the sky, my body seemed to have a tremendous black wave, almost like wings.
It was too grotesque to be thought of as angelic wings.
And there was a woman looking down on me from such a high place.
I had never seen that face before.
Though I’m not so sure if it can be called a face at all. It looked like a form that emerged after a writhing mass of tentacles was thrown together as a human shape.
What could be called a ‘face’ seemed to smile as it looked down at me.
I wondered how that appearance would appear to others.
A being from beyond the universe, an existence coming from the unknown. It probably wasn’t just about looking horrifically strange.
…
Well, in a way, I didn’t care at this point.
Yuka and Koko are here. Kagami is also here.
And the only being that could stop Nirlas is me.
Then I had to do it.
Thud.
I kicked off.
My body slowly began to rise. It felt like gravity didn’t apply to me, I could dive toward the sky.
The woman moved as well.
Her movements were relaxed.
“How fun.”
The woman’s voice sounded like she was genuinely enjoying herself.
Not sarcastically or mocking, it seemed like she was truly delighted. What could be so enjoyable?
Nirlas didn’t seem to have any more plans to speak.
As her hair moved, Nirlas’s hair moved too. The thin, long strands of hair ripped into mine.
Though they looked like hair, they were actually made of my flesh, so blood inevitably flowed.
But this blood was not just ordinary blood.
“Hooh.”
Nirlas chuckled in admiration.
My blood was burning blue.
The flames surrounding my body melted into me. I had no idea how that was possible. Was it because of the Sasaki siblings’ blood that had mixed with my flesh? Or was it due to the mirror I saw just before?
The blue flames scattered across the sky flickered like will-o’-the-wisps.
Torn flesh danced in mid-air, merging into a clump. When Nirlas’ hair caught fire, she simply cut it off.
Was that body also an avatar?
Just like the blood that moved with Nirlas, it seemed to be merely an illusion reflecting Nirlas’s presence in this world. I wasn’t sure.
Nirlas moved smoothly as if swimming through water.
It was visible where that ‘eye’ would be pointed down toward the ground.
Nirlas didn’t have to do that. Just like when my body was the mass itself, she could have simply created her eyes in a comfortable spot. No, was it even necessary to have eyes to see anything? Even when she was inside me, Nirlas whispered to me and I could see the world.
My hair spread out.
Before Nirlas’ tentacles could pierce through the people below, I spread my hair like a spider’s web to block them, just like Koko did to protect us earlier.
That… wasn’t perfect.
My body may have been large, but in reality, it was a body that could have been chopped up and stored in several refrigerators. I could enlarge it several times over, and since the laws of physics didn’t apply wholly to this world, it was indeed possible to block and fight.
But even so, the difference in size was too great.
Nirlas’ avatar, based on the massive tentacles Kosuzu created, looked considerably smaller than that which blossomed on the ground just earlier, but it was probably able to grow even larger than Kosuzu’s exaggerated form.
It was impossible to simply block it like an umbrella.
First, I covered the people below in a dome shape, swinging my hair to block and sever what Nirlas was swinging. Thanks to the blue flames bleeding, it was possible to sever each one.
However—
I saw something wriggling behind Nirlas.
It wasn’t a tentacle. Not a physical thing, but space itself seemed to writhe.
“……”
Well, considering she’s a being of a godly stature,
Space didn’t tear or distort.
Rather, it was like something losing its form and becoming squishy.
The space around Nirlas was ‘melting down’.
Is this what it means for the world to perish?
The melted ‘space’ flowed down slowly, piling on the ground like lava.
It wasn’t a speed that felt too fast. However, if it kept moving like that without rest and turned the ground upside down, how likely is it that this entire planet would disappear?
I could somewhat understand Kagami’s thoughts.
Wanting just a little more time, having realized too late about the time of ourselves and the others…
The destruction of the world would take some time, after all.
Not only near Nirlas, but the surroundings also began to show signs of the space itself melting down.
Like sand flowing from an hourglass, Nirlas was showing it to me as if she was teaching me.
“……”
Then, there was no choice but to fight.
Countless blades, all kinds of sharp instruments I could think of rushed towards Nirlas. Some were slashed from the air and spat out blue flames, while others melted and blended into the melting space.
Nirlas began to move quickly as well.
Her eyes continued to watch me.
Every time Nirlas’ body lashed out, the space tore apart. Nothing monstrous emerged. It simply shattered, broke, and melted down more.
Wherever Nirlas moved, the world was fragmenting.
Silently, Nirlas was proclaiming the end of this world.
Probably, there was only one reason for that.
Simply to show it to me.
Wanting me to struggle.
Yeah. Struggling.
I was struggling.
I wanted to… save the world.
Not because I was a hero, but simply because I was the only one who could do it right now.
And because I wanted to continue living with other kids in that world.
I turned my gaze. My hair—a part of my body was infused into the melted space. Some parts had vanished, while others hadn’t yet.
Forcing the parts that hadn’t vanished to move, I grasped the melting space itself. ‘I’ that had melted too much in had slowed that phenomenon down and it stopped gradually.
…I see now.
My power isn’t only about changing my appearance. Just like Nirlas’ ability isn’t just about wielding tentacles.
So perhaps, I—
“That’s impressive.”
Nirlas whispered.
The part I held shattered with a clink and scattered down like shattered glass. The part that hit the ground was utterly gone without returning.
“It would be nice if you keep struggling like that.”
With Nirlas’ laughter, I clenched my teeth and moved more fiercely.
Trampling the space, I moved forward. Where I passed, a black trace was left behind. The flesh couldn’t keep up with the speed, trailing behind.
I stretched my hand forward and grasped the space like Nirlas did, breaking it apart, but it didn’t seem to deliver a serious blow to Nirlas. Was it because it was her own ability?
Nirlas’ tentacle swung and struck my side.
“Hooh?”
But I didn’t fly away or anything.
A dog’s head sprouted in that spot, biting into Nirlas’ tentacle.
I stabbed the tentacle caught in my hair. Climbing, I moved along the tentacle toward Nirlas. I tore apart the part the dog had bitten away along with the space.
Nirlas swung yet again and threw me down to the ground.
“Guh…!”
For the first time since becoming this body, I felt real pain.
Nirlas slowly descended, approaching me.
Another tap tap, the sound of footsteps echoed like she was wearing heels.
“Looks like you’re not thinking of giving up.”
“……Do you like it?”
Nirlas laughed at my words.
Her face made of tentacles was smiling. Strangely, that smile felt gentle. It wasn’t a wild, tearing laughter, nor was it mocking.
It simply felt like she was enjoying facing me one-on-one.
“At first, I thought of you only as an obstacle.”
Nirlas said.
“Well, without you, I wouldn’t have felt such great interest in this world.”
It wasn’t that she felt interest in the world, but rather in me.
I still didn’t know how the original story went. Unless I were to die in this life and be reborn back in that world, without recovering my memories, I probably wouldn’t find out forever.
There were many times I had regretted that. If only I had read until the very end, there would have been numerous times I could have gained benefits.
But not now.
Even without that, I could make friends. I could connect with people.
Those living here weren’t mere characters in a novel; they were people who think and feel emotions.
And—
If it weren’t for me, surely the innocent kids would have suffered until the end.
I was glad that it was me rather than another being in that place.
I got to my feet.
And I leapt as hard as I could towards Nirlas.
Boom!
I swung my fist, but those tentacles, which didn’t look that sturdy, casually absorbed the force of my punch.
While that arm of mine was pierced by another of Nirlas’ tentacles.
My arm slowly rose, and Nirlas came closer.
“You’re having fun like this, but you seem like you aren’t enjoying it.”
“Does it seem like I’m not?”
“Isn’t that what your expression says?”
…That’s true.
How could I possibly enjoy this situation?
No one would enjoy having a huge obligation pile on their shoulders. Perhaps only a politician or someone addicted to power could do that, but in such a situation, they would probably just want to run away.
But—well, yeah.
To be honest, I’ve enjoyed quite a few things in this world.
I relished school life again.
I felt a bit of the joy of traveling overseas, and I enjoyed the festival. I even had a Christmas party that I never experienced during my student days.
Back in high school, I probably couldn’t have gotten this close with so many people.
Even hunting Yōkai was like that.
It was scary, it was painful, and I felt like I was about to die, but if I’m honest, there were times I felt a little giddy, like I had stepped into a manga.
After all, it was a world I had read about in the works, so I couldn’t hate it.
So, to be honest, I was thankful for that.
And thus, I didn’t want to give up.
“……That’s right.”
When I replied, Nirlas chuckled slightly.
“So…”
While glowering at Nirlas, I said.
“I absolutely won’t give up.”
From the side of my neck, a blade sprang out.
The blade barely brushed past my body, penetrating Nirlas’ neck, which was tightly grasping me.
…
If Nirlas’ eyes aren’t truly functioning as eyes, then isn’t my similar body like the same?
I felt it back when I created the black dome to protect Yuka, Koko, and Kagami.
“Yuka.”
“Koto Ne?”
And just as I imagined, I could hear Yuka’s voice. Even though this body, which resembled ‘Koto Ne’, was outside, that part of me was not the ‘main body’, after all.
In the first place, that huge mass was merely the massive flesh itself. If that’s the case, then every part of the body is considered to be the main body.
“Can I ask one thing?”
“Of course.”
Yuka answered immediately.
Right. Yuka has always acted like she would accept all my requests.
…But because of that, I felt a bit uneasy.
I didn’t want to drag the other kids into this fight if possible. I thought it would be nice if I could solve it by myself.
But, it didn’t seem like that was going to be the case.
Yuka was still gripping the sword tightly in her hand.
The sword steeped in the blood of monsters that had consistently threatened humanity for centuries or even millennia.
There must be a reason why Yuka is the main heroine of the novel.
It must be because she could strike down gods with that sword.
I kept thinking.
I hadn’t read the end of the novel, but it didn’t seem likely that it would have a happy ending. After all, back in those days, many stories had shocking contents like heroines dying or being assaulted halfway through.
Did Yuka die? Or did the protagonist Sasaki surprisingly die instead?
But, until the end, that blade must have acted as a ‘key’.
If it hadn’t, it wouldn’t have appeared as such an important tool.
“I’ll hide you all.”
I said to Yuka.
“I’m going to get as close to Nirlas as possible.”
“Okay.”
Yuka nodded with a serious expression at my words.
Truth was, I felt like Yuka had already understood just by saying this much, but I decided to be a bit clearer. Problems during crucial moments would be troublesome.
“Stab Nirlas at the right moment.”
“Got it.”
Yuka nodded her head, seeming to understand my plan.
“……”
After thinking for a moment,
“Koko.”
“Koto Ne!”
When I called her name, Koko brightened up, even in this situation.
“Help Yuka. She might need some strength.”
“Okay!”
Koko nodded vigorously.
She really is a reliable kid every time I see her.
I barely held back the urge to smile.
And—
“……Kagami.”
“……”
Kagami, who was holding the mirror, merely looked up at me and nodded.
Though she looked up, she didn’t meet my eyes. What she saw would only be my black hair, after all.
But at least, I could clearly tell her face looked very different from usual.
Kagami was crying.
…
I didn’t know what to say.
Our relationship was still uncertain.
Though I promised to address her formally when everything was over, the situation wasn’t concluded yet.
Yet…
“……You’ve been reflecting me.”
It was a thought that arose when gazing at that mirror.
Kagami was, after all, an ‘abandoned child’ in the end.
Did she properly receive care after giving birth? I wonder if Kosuzu would have done that. It’s rather strange if she hadn’t pushed for something to give birth to another being.
I probably didn’t feel that way when I was simply asleep, but as I began to live and move, my thoughts might’ve changed little by little.
…I still knew that I was in a much better environment than Kagami.
Well, it wasn’t perfect. It might have just been me keeping my distance from being cautious, but at least it had helped me quite a bit.
“Let’s take our time and have a chat when this is all over.”
That’s what I decided to say.
And I hid the three people within my hair.
…
“—Hahaha!”
Nirlas was laughing, as if someone had taken a hit.
With a sword in her hand,
Even though Yuka’s sword was embedded in Nirlas’ body, she could hardly move.
Well, it would be like that.
She wouldn’t die just from one stab. That area wouldn’t be a vital spot either.
“You were quite clever.”
Nirlas said.
“That’s right. I did think hard.”
Yuka was doing her best to hold on, but eventually, the blade slipped out of Nirlas’ neck to the side.
At a glance, it looked like Nirlas’ neck was half severed, her head dangling, but it felt far less effective than how a human neck would look like that.
“It’s useless—”
“No, it’s useful.”
The blade merely cut off part of Nirlas’ body.
But at least, that severed scene wouldn’t heal right away. It was that kind of blade.
I reached out and grabbed Yuka’s blade.
“Koto Ne!?”
Yuka gasped in shock, but I made a long cut across my palm on the blade.
That wound wouldn’t heal easily either.
With that wounded hand, I tightly grasped the severed side of Nirlas.
And I shattered the space.
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