Chapter 35: Your Gentle Despair

If you ask if I feel nothing when a human dies, that’s not true.

Why, I was human in my previous life, so how could I not feel anything?

To use an analogy—yes.

It’s similar to the feeling of dropping junk food purchased from a stationery store on the ground.

‘It’s such a waste, it’s such a waste…

If I were to define what the monsters were doing now in one sentence, it would be ‘cutting open the stomach of the duck that lays golden eggs.’

Is it really necessary to kill humans who pour out despair just by leaving them alone?

If it were me, I would keep them by my side and use them as a rice bowl of despair for the rest of my life.

Gulp, gurgle—

“Thank you? Do I really need to thank you?”

If I had caught a human and fed him, it would have been understandable, but I had just taken them out of the test tube.

Oh, could it be that I was thanking them for taking them out of the test tube?

… Anyway, how big is this place?

I thought it was big, but even after walking for a long time, I couldn’t see the end.

I told the monsters that followed me to leave every time they ate a human head, but since there were more monsters that woke up in test tubes than those that left, there had actually been more than before.

There was even one that ate my lower body instead of my head because it didn’t want to leave me.

When I looked at one that didn’t leave, it made a dumbfounded expression and said something like, “It doesn’t have to leave since it’s not a head, right?”—

“Me, really…”

The monsters that had increased in number cleared my path, scouted the area, and ran towards me and ate me as soon as they heard the voices of humans—

Phew, it was a parade of ghosts made of monsters—

Blink-Blink-Blink—

“The lights were fine until they came this way, right?”

The monsters were a collection of despair energy, and with such collections tightly packed together, the concentration of despair was considerable.

Just getting near it made the lights flicker and an ominous atmosphere linger, but maybe it was because of that, but it had an atmosphere that made people who came near it immediately faint.

“Oh, from now on, things are mixed.”

Grm?

Does that mean this is under the mart?

I tilted my head and looked inside the test tube, and the monster next to me tilted its head in return.

“Is that strange?”

Grm

The monsters inside the test tubes all had different monster and human parts.

Some had monster arms, some had monster legs, some had monster heads, or their entire bodies were monsters with human heads.

It was like seeing a dog’s head with a human head attached to it.

Boom!

Gmmmm!

“Well, if you want, you can leave them out.”

I don’t know about the ones with monster heads, but for now, the ones with human heads left were just humans with monster bodies.

They felt despair the same, and they died when their human parts were attacked and critically injured.

…Should I just not take them out?

Squeak, squeak—

“Let’s take out half of them since they’re the same kind as me, right?

Well… not half, really.”

But still, it would be better to take them all out as soon as they appear so that the aftertaste wouldn’t be bad.

After all, I took all the monsters I’d seen out of their test tubes on my way here, so it felt strange that I wasn’t taking out the ones that were half-dead.

Squeak, squeak—

“I wish they’d stop screaming as soon as they woke up….”

There were so many guys nearby that would scream if a normal human saw them.

I looked down at the half-dead guy who fell to the floor with a thud as the test tube broke and I let out a sigh.

What’s going on here?

“Huh…?”

“Are your eyes open?”

“Me, what the hell… What the…”

“It’s good that you came to your senses. Do you remember what’s been happening to you up until now?”

I crouched down and looked down at the half-dead guy, and his dull eyes blankly scanned my body.

It’s the same reaction as last time.

Is it because I forcibly took him out of the test tube?

Ugh, euaaa”

The moment I opened my eyes wide at the sudden rush of Banjoki, Banjoki’s head disappeared.

Ah, too bad.

This was the first time I saw a monster reacting like this, so I wanted to watch it a little more.

I turned my head and looked at the monster that had taken off the half-head.

Gulp-

“Yes, well. You did well.”

The monster poked its head in as if asking if I did well, but I couldn’t treat the monster like a pet.

Okay, okay, I’ll just give you verbal praise, so please don’t poke your head in so burdensomely.

I pressed the head of the monster that was looking at me with blood dripping from its mouth with my finger and pushed it back a little.

“Seriously, your gown got dirty again.”

If you ask me why I’m obsessed with gowns, I honestly don’t know.

Why am I so obsessed with lab coats?

Crack

“Doctor.”

You’re so competent that you created the apocalypse, but you didn’t give me even a sip of despair?

A research lab made by humans is this great!

It was such a disappointment that I even developed a hatred that didn’t exist before.

The reason I was obsessed with the doctor’s gown was so that I wouldn’t forget that hatred.

‘It’s worst to take something away after trying to give it to someone.’

I sighed and stood up, letting out the anger boiling inside me.

I’m going to take this anger out on that suspicious, cross-eyed guy.

My head was spinning.

So, a monster had appeared?

A significant number of monsters at that?

It didn’t make sense.

For that many monsters to appear in such a small city was impossible.

And the location was—

“Akari, we have to go find Akari! Akari—”

The hotel I had made a reservation for Akari to stay at for the night.

A monster had appeared there.

A monster had appeared there.

Where I had sent her, a monster.

“Wake up, Emerald! Why are you doing this?!”

“Tch, my friend… A monster is where my friend is, ugh…”

I felt a queasy feeling welling up inside me.

I came back to not lose the people I care about, but I accidentally sent them to their deaths.

What kind of magical girl is this?

What the heck?

[Akari will be fine, Emerald.]

“Mei.”

[That’s why I booked you the safest hotel, just in case? A room that can block even a Gamma-class monster.]

“That’s, but…”

I slowly exhaled as Mei spoke softly.

I was flustered for no reason and ended up looking pathetic.

I finally met Ruby again, and now she’s acting like this.

I couldn’t raise my head because I was so embarrassed.

“So, who’s Akari? She’s my friend, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so…”

I rolled my eyes here and there as Ruby spoke, giggling.

In the previous world, Ruby would’ve been the one getting really excited and I would’ve calmed her down, but now the situation was completely reversed.

“I never imagined that Emerald would have a friend who couldn’t live like this, haha!”

“Ah, ahaha…”

“So, Akari is a new friend you made after you came back? I’ve never heard of that name before you came back.”

“I guess…so?”

A new friend…

If you look at it, it was a new friend.

If only the identity was none other than the Apocalypse of the previous world.

If Ruby found out about Akari, of course she’d be angry.

She’d spit out a bunch of raw, unsanitized insults at me, asking if I was sane or crazy.

“Introduce her to me later. If she’s Emerald’s friend, she’d definitely be a good person.”

“Ahaha…if I get the chance.”

There was absolutely no way that such an opportunity would arise.

If Ruby saw Akari, she’d rush at her without hesitation and pierce her with her blade of hope energy.

“Let’s take care of the nearby monsters first. I’ll go towards the large mad over there, and you go towards the hotel on the other side.”

“…Ruby.”

“I believe you can do it on your own, Emerald.”

Ruby’s consideration made her feel better.

Yes, Akari is in a safe place now.

It won’t be too late even if you take care of all the monsters that appeared in the city.

It’s just that there are more of them, but their ranks aren’t that high.

“Then, let’s clean everything up and meet again! Don’t get hurt!”

“Yes, Ruby, be careful not to get hurt either.”

Unlike me, who has self-healing abilities, Ruby was completely focused on strengthening her firepower.

Even her fighting style was close combat.

It was dangerous enough that her life could be lost if she made a single move, but the reason she didn’t go with Ruby was because of Akari, but also because she trusted her fighting ability.

“Let’s go, Mei.”

[I’ve roughly scanned the locations of the monsters. I’ll quickly brief you on the ones nearby.]

“Got it!”

I calmed my mind at Mei’s calm voice.

Let’s go, Emerald.

We’ll save the people and save Akari.

The creaking that had been present until just now began to rotate with an even more intense sound.

The end of despair becomes even stronger.

Firm your heart, keep your gaze straight.

And what’s at the—

It was the top floor of the hotel, stained with people’s blood and

the end of that gaze is definitely—

The hope circuit that

Hope, as it blooms at turned into a sea of blood.