Ch.135Chapter 20. Request (10)

Pain is an animal’s alarm system.

When something goes wrong with the body, it’s a system that warns you to identify the problem as quickly as possible and somehow escape the situation before completely losing function of part of your body.

That’s why heat, cold, and pressure all lead to pain when they exceed certain thresholds.

It’s also why pain is the most intense sensation.

And probably why burning pain is classified as the worst kind of pain.

In that sense, the burning pain in my body is, strictly speaking, phantom pain.

Why should it hurt so much when the flames don’t even cause burns?

Perhaps this isn’t physical pain, but pain of the soul.

Well, rather than real fire, it’s more like fire meant to burn yokai or other monsters.

And strictly speaking, I was that kind of being too.

That’s why I screamed at first.

Deep in my instincts, something was screaming to stop this immediately and run away.

I almost did exactly that.

If I hadn’t been this accustomed to heat.

…Yes.

This isn’t really the sensation of my body being on fire. Thinking about it again, it definitely seemed better than when I’d been burned.

It was still the worst pain imaginable in normal circumstances, but considering my body that couldn’t faint or anything, there was nothing I couldn’t endure.

I opened my eyes wide. It was hot, but I didn’t feel tears evaporating.

My skin wasn’t burning horribly, and my hair wasn’t burning and sticking to me.

I was still alive.

I wouldn’t die here.

With just that thought, I endured.

“How foolish.”

And then I heard that voice.

“Did you not listen to anything I said?”

Meow, that distinctive cry I always hear when I enter the house.

“…Kuro?”

What appeared before my eyes was a door.

A door that looked like an ordinary room door, seemingly made of carved and crafted silver wood, but strangely felt unreal.

Beyond the open door was a shallow staircase.

Steps about ankle-height extended quite high. At least, I couldn’t see the end from the door.

And on the seventh step, Kuro was curled up.

With ears perked up, lazily swishing his tail.

“I suppose you had no choice,” he said.

Kuro stared at me intently with those yellow eyes.

“Even so, did you really need to hold onto your sanity so desperately until the end?”

Ah, I see.

This place where I am now must be some kind of mental world.

A dreamlike place, like where I met that guy last time.

“If you had just let go and lost consciousness, everything would have been over by the time you woke up.”

“Nothing is over.”

I said I would find Satori.

This will only end when I find Satori. That’s the kind of being Nirlas is.

“Hmm.”

Meow, meow. Kuro made those sounds as he rolled around.

Then, folding his front paws against his body and lying on his back with his belly exposed, as if it wasn’t a big deal,

“Why should you listen to someone who only sees you as a toy?”

“…”

No, that’s something you can say because you’re a similar kind of being.

Normal people can only prostrate themselves and tremble when they encounter a god.

Aren’t I actually being quite brave by confronting it?

“Well, fine.”

I didn’t answer, but Kuro didn’t seem particularly offended as he rolled around.

“I’ll help you a little this time. Stay here and go back when everything’s done. Then you’ll be able to find this Satori or whatever easily.”

I stared blankly at Kuro for a while.

“What do you want in return for helping me?”

“What do I need to want to help someone? You’re thinking too complicatedly again.”

Kuro spun around and lay down with his belly on the ground, looking at me.

“Haven’t you ever thought about this? You’re walking down the street and there’s a cat groaning in pain. Couldn’t you just want to help without thinking? And you wouldn’t expect anything in return for doing something like that.”

Kuro looked up at me intently.

A cat’s expression is hard to read. It seemed somewhat languid, but also like he was smiling. With such a mysterious expression, Kuro narrowed his eyes and said,

“Besides, I like cats. I like people who take care of cats, and I like people that cats like.”

“You’re not the only person in the world who helps cats.”

“That’s why I’m telling you not to think so complicatedly.”

Kuro yawned widely.

“Whether it’s a coincidence or there’s really a reason, that’s not what’s important, is it? All connections are like that anyway. Meow.”

“…”

“Hmm.”

Seeing that I still didn’t understand, Kuro snorted.

“That Yuka girl you met, she’s an exorcist, right? By your standards, she’s not an ordinary girl?”

That was true.

…If this were a light novel, I might have denied it. ‘You’re just an ordinary girl too!’ is a basic quality of light novel male protagonists, and being moved by those words is a basic quality of the main heroine.

Yuka… yes, she has parts that aren’t ordinary, and parts that are.

Stripped of all that, she’s just a nice girl. Nice enough to want to help a skinny girl crouched alone on the rooftop eating plain bread dipped in salt.

“Meeting such a unique girl was a coincidence, wasn’t it? And you living in that world now is also a coincidence. But thinking you’d continue that connection and becoming friends was your decision. From that point on, doesn’t coincidence become connection?”

“…”

“Alright. I’ll take a step back.”

Kuro’s tail flicked once more.

“I might have been curious about the world you live in. So I might have been watching through one of the many cats there, and I might have happened to see the kids who helped that cat.”

Kuro stared at me intently as he spoke.

“But even if our first meeting was a coincidence, continuing to talk afterward might be my will. I don’t know the reason. I don’t even want to know. I just do it because I want to. Like a cat. Meow.”

It was something I both understood and didn’t understand.

But I had to admit that the answer was very cat-like.

“Hmm, there’s some time left.”

Kuro yawned big and chattered.

“Should I just talk about anything since I’m bored? How many steps do you think there are?”

He was probably talking about the stairs where he was lying.

The stairs that extended beyond the door, quite high.

“There are 70. After those 70, there are another 700 steps.”

“Is there any meaning in dividing them like that?”

“There is meaning. Sleep has light sleep and deep sleep, after all.”

Kuro said, rolling around.

“Right now, you’re not even in light sleep, but more like a doze?”

Kuro lay completely stretched out with his back on the ground again, then raised his head to look at me.

“It’s about time for you to wake up. Let’s meet again when you fall into a deeper sleep. Please continue to take care of Kuro. Meow.”

With those final words from the dream Kuro, I opened my eyes.

*

I got up, brushing off the ashes covering various parts of my body.

What surrounded me… wasn’t a particularly pleasant sight.

Just because something is as big as a house doesn’t mean what’s inside is building material. What swallowed me in one bite wasn’t a house but a monster whose status as a living being was questionable.

What surrounded me… looked like intestines left too long on a grill. Most were burned black and smelled terrible.

Strangely, under these almost completely incinerated things were completely unburned grasses. Even though most were dry fallen leaves, they hadn’t caught fire at all.

I guess the fire really wasn’t from this world.

“Kotone!”

Koko called my name loudly as she ran over.

Thud.

With almost that sound, Koko rushed to me and hugged me tightly.

“Koko.”

“Kotone, are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“There was no sound from you after a while, and we couldn’t see you anymore…”

Judging by how she was crying profusely and speaking incoherently, Koko must have been extremely shocked.

How did I look when I was floating in the air?

At first, they might have seen me. Since the monster’s body was transparent.

Being transparent means light can’t be reflected.

Instead, I inside its body would have been clearly visible. After all, my body is still made of matter. I probably looked like I was floating in midair inside that mouth.

That means everyone around must have seen my body being engulfed in blue flames, and me screaming in agony.

And at the point when the fire started spreading around and the huge Waitley began to burn, my body would have become invisible. Because once Waitley started burning, its body became visible.

Koko couldn’t come inside.

Even knowing that the fire couldn’t burn normal people, no one else would have entered those visibly raging flames.

“Koko. Where are the others?”

“Huh?”

Contrary to Koko’s concern, my body was fine.

Honestly, I felt much better than before I lost my memories.

Kuro called it a doze, but I felt like I’d had the deepest sleep in recent memory.

I still felt some weakness and—

“…Ah.”

—yes, my left arm still hurt.

Nirlas, you’re much more persistent than I thought.

I was curious about what would happen if I didn’t keep my end of the deal, and now I think I’ve confirmed part of it right here.

I heard someone running urgently toward us from a distance.

Looking over, I saw Kagami running toward me.

“Kagami.”

“…”

But when Kagami reached me, she didn’t touch me like Koko did.

Instead, she stood awkwardly nearby with a very hesitant expression.

“…It’s not over yet.”

“…You are…”

“I’ll answer after I finish this.”

Seeing me respond calmly, Kagami’s expression became complex.

“Koko. Can you help me a bit?”

“Umm…?”

“I’ll guide the way.”

When I looked directly at Koko and spoke, she finally nodded.

I’ll buy her something delicious later.

I know that won’t make up for everything I’ve shown Koko today, but doing at least that would make me feel a little better.

“…Will you be alright?”

Kagami, who had seen the same scene earlier, asked.

I nodded.

“At least for now.”

After everything is over…

Well, I’ll need to rest a bit then.

*

I asked Koko to move a little slower than usual.

It wasn’t really because of my physical condition. Rather, if she moved like teleporting as usual, I wouldn’t be able to find the way.

After moving like that for several dozen seconds—

“Koko, over there!”

“Yes!”

Clang!

There was the sound of metal clashing, and a dagger flew into the air.

Slash, the sound of flesh being cut and blood spraying.

“…”

And one woman looking at me with narrowed eyes.

Her appearance was very similar to Kagami’s. When I first met her, I mistook her for Kagami.

But, yes. Face to face like this, her impression was a bit different.

“You definitely look older.”

I said, adjusting my grip on my sword.

Surprisingly, my words seemed quite effective. Kosuzu was glaring at me.

Is she upset that I interfered with her work again?

Even though she succeeded.

What Kosuzu held in her hand was a small monkey.

It wasn’t large. Small enough to be mistaken for a baby at first glance, with a red face and light-colored fur.

Bleeding from its neck.

The chill I felt on my back gradually subsided.

Just from that, I could tell it was already too late.

Looking around, there were several slimes we had cut down.

There were even more we hadn’t cut. When I struck at Kosuzu’s hand and Koko aimed for her neck, those attacks were blocked by flesh that quickly jumped in.

Moreover, it wasn’t just the slimes and the dying Satori we needed to worry about. There was also a person.

The blood-covered unconscious person was someone I knew.

“…So you came this far after all.”

“How did you get here yourself?”

“You really do displease me.”

As always, Kosuzu didn’t give a proper answer to my question.

Thud.

The monkey in Kosuzu’s hand fell to the floor.

Koko shook her hair wildly as if wanting to kill Kosuzu, but—

Slash!

The surrounding slimes all expanded their bodies at once.

…In the original Cthulhu Mythos, shoggoths, which occupy the position of slimes, were actually tools.

Though later they betrayed their masters and devoured them all.

Jingle.

And from beyond that wall of flesh, I heard that sound.

I swung my sword too, but the wall of flesh, which seemed like all the surrounding slimes had stuck together, wasn’t easily cut.

Even if I took out a talisman, it would already be too late.

By the time Koko and I finally broke through the hemispherical wall of flesh and looked inside, Kosuzu was already gone.

Alright. At least I know that Kosuzu has the ability to move around freely.

It must be related to that bell sound. Since Kagami’s mirror can connect to the other side, the bell probably serves a similar purpose.

Though I don’t know how Kosuzu can be safe on that side.

After confirming Kosuzu’s disappearance, I turned to look at the blood-covered person.

“…Mr. Miura.”

So he was here after all.

I quickly ran over and used my hands to stop the bleeding from Mr. Miura’s wounds. He was bleeding from cuts all over, but the worst wound was on his chest. A deep stab wound from the dagger Kosuzu had been holding.

Around us, besides Mr. Miura, there were men in military uniforms or suits lying haphazardly. …At a glance, not many seemed to have survived. Some bodies weren’t intact, as if they had been eaten by slimes.

I think I understand what Kosuzu was after.

My hands weren’t working well. Blood was still flowing from my left wrist.

“Koko, help me.”

“Yes!”

At my words, Koko’s hair moved. Seeing it wrap around Mr. Miura’s wounds, I removed my hands.

Koko’s hair grabbed not only Mr. Miura’s body but also the bodies of others. She checked if they were alive, and if there were wounds, she wrapped them tightly. Only after seeing this did I exhale softly.

I staggered to my feet and headed toward Satori lying on the floor.

Through the dim darkness, I could barely see its chest moving.

Is it trying to run away from me?

Thud.

I knelt beside it.

There were tears in the monkey’s eyes.

It wouldn’t want to die. Yes, that’s natural. All living beings feel that way.

What should I do?

I don’t know how to save yokai. Should I take it to an animal hospital?

But even as I thought this, I knew it was already too late. Kosuzu had stabbed it in the neck. Blood was gurgling out from there.

No. Even that flow of blood had almost stopped. It must have bled as much as it could.

At the very least, I wanted to offer some help. Even though I came to kill this creature, it had no meaning in this situation.

I slowly reached out and placed my hand on its thin neck—

And then, Satori’s gradually narrowing eyes suddenly flew open.

Its face filled with horror, contorting wildly into something bestial.

Through my hand on its neck, I felt Satori take a deep breath.

And then.

“I want to live!”

It screamed.

“I don’t want to die! I really don’t want to die! I want to live longer! I want to stay together! It really hurts so much! I feel like I’m dying, but I don’t want to!”

Satori’s voice was nothing like what I had imagined.

I had thought it would be more like “oo-ki-ki,” a truly monkey-like voice.

“Someone, save me! Please, please…”

Satori’s final breath slowly escaped its mouth.

“Help me… save me.”

“…”

And with that, Satori died with its eyes open.

I stared blankly at Satori for a while, then slowly removed my hand.

My fingertips were trembling.

I felt cold. As if suddenly feeling the cold just now.

Slowly turning around, I saw Koko’s face, her eyes wide open, staring at me.

Her mouth was slightly open as she looked at me.

And a little further away stood Kagami.

With a somewhat dazed expression.

Both of them were just silently staring at me.

I slowly opened my mouth, but quickly closed it again. I knew that whatever I said here wouldn’t help much.

In the distance, I saw light.

People who had decided there was no need to hide anymore were shining flashlights in our direction.

Some were dressed like Catholic priests, some in military uniforms, and some in suits. Even from a distance, the size of our people was obvious.

The blood flowing from my wrist had stopped.

The knife had disappeared, leaving only bloodstains.

…I see.

So this is what you wanted, Nirlas.

With a somewhat dejected feeling, I let my arm drop.