Ch.177Chapter 26. Mirror (14)

High in the sky, in front of the writhing dragon stood a small being.

A woman’s body with long black hair.

Though described as a woman’s form, it didn’t truly feel human.

Not human because its skin wasn’t smooth, as if it were drawing in surrounding matter to create a human-like appearance.

This impression was strengthened by the fact that the body was maintained by tentacles that had been writhing high in the sky until moments ago.

Perhaps there was too much material to form just a human body. The remaining parts formed “hair.”

A being flying high in the sky, with countless strands of hair stretching behind it.

Like a corpse submerged in water, that hair spread in all directions, writhing.

Looking at this figure, Yuka was reminded of Kotone and Koko. Though they looked nothing alike, somehow…

“What a pitiful sight.”

Such words were heard.

Not through sound or eardrums. It was like a voice digging directly into her mind.

“I wonder what made you this way.”

The woman spoke as she approached Kotone.

Now not a single tentacle remained around Yuka and Koko.

Only the shattered and split ground remained. The park-like appearance from before was completely gone.

“With such power. When you could have become my servant and enjoyed a thousand years of life.”

Kagami had no way to stop the woman who reached her hand toward Kotone’s body.

“Why did you make such a choice?” the woman said.

“What did you want to achieve so badly that you would lose even yourself?”

Could this be a god?

The god Kotone worshipped?

To Yuka, it seemed that way. After all, this country had many gods.

Every mountain had a shrine, and each shrine enshrined the local deity. This would be incomprehensible to those who worshipped a single god.

But the “god” Yuka knew wasn’t like this.

The world was unnaturally quiet.

It felt as if all sounds had disappeared except for the woman’s voice and Kotone’s groans.

Only then did Yuka realize.

Despite the situation, no missiles were flying or fighter jets launching. If anyone on this land had been awake, they couldn’t have missed that mass of flesh in the sky.

Slowly, the woman’s hair moved.

“No!” Koko shouted.

As if she knew what that action meant.

All Yuka could imagine was using hair as a weapon like Koko or Kotone did. Was she going to cut Kotone to pieces with that hair?

Yuka wanted to help somehow.

But with just a knife, there was nothing she could do in this situation.

“————!”

When the hair touched her, Kotone twisted her body.

It was a horrific sight.

Her dragon form had already melted away, leaving Kotone as a shapeless mass of flesh.

When those thin black lines wrapped around it, the mass of flesh twisted and screamed horribly.

An ordinary person would feel terror.

Both beings looked like they would bring harm to this world.

But Yuka shed tears.

Even while watching this incomprehensible scene, Yuka was thinking of Kotone.

How could she not? In that moment, the one who had sacrificed herself was none other than Kotone.

Please—

That request might not have just been asking her to protect Koko, she realized.

Yuka looked down at her knife.

It gleamed in the light. It looked so indifferent.

“After all, you are my child.”

The woman spoke as if pleased.

“—I see. I’ve figured out how you should move. I wonder, how would you like to destroy the world yourself?”

“…!”

Goosebumps rose on Yuka’s back.

It was the worst she had ever felt.

A sensation like her hair standing on end. Her blood instantly turned cold, and the feeling in her hands and feet gradually disappeared.

“Ah—”

“…Kotone?”

Koko asked in a slightly weakened voice. Her eyes were unfocused.

As if asking what was wrong.

“————!”

Kotone was still twisting her body, but

her head, or what could be called her head, was somehow looking down.

And below were Yuka and Koko.

For some reason, the woman who had wrapped her hair around Kotone’s body seemed to be smiling while looking at them.

*

Kagami ran.

Everything that had blocked the road was gone. Even the tentacles that had fallen after destroying roads and buildings had completely disappeared.

To be precise, even those dead parts had risen upward.

The road was still split, but when she encountered an impassable area, she climbed over nearby building walls, crossed over crushed cars, and kept running.

In the process, her shrine maiden outfit became very dirty. There were places where strange red liquid was seeping out. Had she fallen and been stabbed somewhere?

Even through all this, Kagami didn’t let go of the mirror in her hand.

…The god Kurosawa had so desperately wanted was in the sky.

Perhaps if it had been Kagami from early last year, she would have given up everything.

Given up everything, just knelt on the ground, and wished for this world to disappear.

But, strangely, she didn’t want to do that now.

For the first time since her sister left, she wanted to live.

Yes, before that—until she properly looked at her daughter—

Until she saw someone who treated Kagami as a human being—

Kagami had merely been existing.

She had no attachments whatsoever.

“————!”

Kotone was groaning.

Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision.

After saving her, this is what happened in less than a day.

Well, that’s the kind of child she was.

She just realized it too late.

Maybe she shouldn’t have.

Maybe it would have been better not to have such strong wariness from the beginning.

Maybe it would have been better to force her way in and live together rather than just abandoning her at home.

No,

Even if she was a child who couldn’t open her eyes, she wasn’t dead.

She should have just not denied that she was her child from the beginning.

If she had sat beside her and waited until she opened her eyes.

Things might not have come to this.

Though it was too late for regrets now.

“Kotone!”

Just as her sister always had, Kagami was calling her by that name.

She should have called her by that name more often.

Rather than distant terms like “you,” that would have been much closer.

“Kotone!”

She didn’t think this voice would reach her.

But still, she wanted to do it.

Because it was already too late.

At least as much as she was late.

In the distance, she saw the children who had gone ahead.

Yuuki was tightly holding Koko, almost collapsed on the ground.

Kotone’s head slowly turned downward.

The tip of her head was clearly looking at those two.

No, that must not happen.

Koko was Koko, but Kotone must not kill Yuuki.

That would be too cruel for Kotone.

Rather—

“Kotone!”

Kagami shouted until her throat hurt.

Though it was her own voice, it strangely felt distant. Had some part of her body broken down from running too much?

Kagami raised the mirror high above her head.

The white light reflecting from the mirror shone on Kotone.

“————.”

The mass of flesh twisted.

Flesh burst from where the threads connected like a puppet show.

Seeing blood flowing down, Kagami shed tears.

Kotone was—turning her head. Even though the black threads were tightly gripping her body, as if she didn’t care, even as her flesh was cut and fell away.

Toward Kagami.

Toward the mirror Kagami was holding.

The white light illuminated Kotone’s face.

Was it her imagination?

Kagami strangely thought she saw Kotone’s face faintly appear in that white part.

*

It was hazy.

But even in such a state, could I avoid losing myself?

Why was that?

Buried under so many personalities, and mixed with so many secrets, I could still maintain the mind of “me.”

I had no eyes, but I had vision.

Looking around, all I could see were bizarre forms I couldn’t understand.

Is human nature originally filled with such twisted things?

Will I also become twisted and mixed like that—

—No, for some reason, I felt like that wouldn’t happen to me.

“…This is.”

I murmured without a mouth.

I saw light circling around me.

That light was like “blood.”

Two red droplets, as small as dots.

They were circling around me as if protecting me.

I reached out with invisible hands to touch those red dots.

They were hot.

“……”

I didn’t know exactly what they were.

But strangely, I had a guess.

I had seen such things many times before.

My blood.

But my blood couldn’t isolate “my” flesh. It wasn’t even “my” blood to begin with.

Then, this is—

…Could it be?

I quietly looked at those blood droplets.

How could such blood droplets exist in a mass of flesh that had been sealed separately?

And the Sasaki siblings’ blood droplets at that.

“…Ah.”

My hazy but faintly connected consciousness became clearer again.

The feeling of floating intensified.

Though I had no visible form or body, I strangely felt like I was slowly rising into the air, no, slowly rising from deep water to the surface.

White light from beyond the surface enveloped my vision—

*

Huff, huff.

It was hot.

Even through the thick firefighting suit, the bright red flames felt unbearably hot. It felt like my skin was burning even through the oxygen mask on my face.

My body was naturally soaked with sweat. I felt a pain like something digging into my shoulder. The oxygen tank was quite heavy, and if worn on the shoulder for a long time, it dug into the flesh.

Arms. I felt weight in my arms too.

Looking down, there was a small child. About five years old? I wasn’t sure if it was a boy or girl, but it was definitely a living child.

The child’s face was covered with a mask. Firefighters’ oxygen tanks have auxiliary oxygen masks attached. They’re for putting on victims’ faces when found inside. If there was only one oxygen mask, the victim could die from gas poisoning while being carried out.

I moved my legs.

I had to get out quickly. The fire was burning more and more intensely. If I delayed even a little, even the firefighting suit wouldn’t be able to protect me.

From somewhere in the distance, I heard the crashing sound of a burning building collapsing.

Water dripped from the ceiling. They must be continuously pouring water with fire hoses to control the fire. It made sense that water would fall from parts that no longer functioned as a roof.

Breathing roughly, I held the child tightly in both arms to protect them from the fire and headed earnestly toward the exit.

“…Ah.”

But it was blocked. Was that crashing sound earlier the collapse of the path I had used to enter? The light line had melted and broken in the fire of the collapsed building.

I turned around without hesitation.

I had to find another way.

The flames showed no sign of stopping. It was an old building, and worse, such buildings were packed tightly together, allowing the fire to spread too easily.

Moreover, the roads were connected haphazardly, making it unclear which way to go.

But I couldn’t die.

I didn’t want to die.

Even after what happened to my family, even after losing my reason to live, I never once wanted to die.

“……”

Exhaling, I somehow walked. My steps grew heavier. So much sweat was flowing that it almost obscured my vision.

And I—

“……”

I found another child.

I wasn’t sure where I was. Perhaps I had entered a different building than the one I came in through.

Had none of my colleagues made it this far? Water was dripping from above, but it didn’t seem enough to completely control the flames.

I bent down to look at the child’s face.

The child was still breathing but unconscious.

I picked up that child too and put them on my other arm.

The weight of the child and equipment was already weighing me down, and now another child’s weight was added.

It wasn’t unbearable. But my body was inevitably getting more tired. The fire was still burning, and my vision was limited.

After walking for a while, I checked the child’s condition again.

Still unconscious.

I knelt on one knee and thought for a moment.

I… didn’t come here to die. I never once thought about dying. Even while living a life I couldn’t die from.

But still.

If I just hold this child here, will they survive?

I learned that all lives are equal. I believe that too. Weighing my life against a child’s life wasn’t the right thing to do.

However.

However… I was the only one who could save this child here.

If I didn’t know, it couldn’t be helped, but the child was still alive, and my body was still fine for now. And above all, I had equipment.

“……”

I took off my mask.

And put it on the child’s face.

I picked up both children again.

The heat of the fire touched my face and it was hot. But I could still see the path a little. In fact, I felt like my vision had become a bit clearer with the glass gone.

I kept walking until my stomach churned and my head started to hurt a little.

Bang!

I heard such a sound from somewhere. It was probably the sound of colleagues trying to break into another house with an axe.

With a slightly dazed mind, I followed that sound.

My steps kept getting heavier.

Bang!

Bang!

The sound gradually got closer.

In the distance, I could see an exit. It was a place the flames hadn’t completely devoured yet.

Crack!

And that door opened.

“There’s someone inside!”

Hearing that voice, I felt a little relieved.

As I kept moving forward, colleagues from outside rushed in all at once.

They took the children from both my hands and ran back out, and only then did my legs give out.

“Hey, stay conscious!”

Someone grabbed my body and dragged me while slapping my cheek with one hand.

I could hear the slapping sound, but somehow it felt distant.

The voice calling my name was urgent.

As I was dragged out, I saw the sky outside.

It was clear without a single cloud.

Did those children survive? I wondered if they were okay. Especially the second child I brought out seemed to have inhaled too much toxic air—

I was put on a stretcher and headed toward the ambulance.

Someone kept calling my name and shaking my body.

…It was that guy who told me not to come close back then. On the bridge. The one who found my family before I did.

…I hadn’t spoken directly to him since. Seeing people who were there kept bringing back those memories.

…Yet everyone was kind to me. They tried to understand. They were all just so kind.

The voice calling me gradually became distressed.

Someone forcibly pulled that person away from me.

A mask was put on my mouth, and a flashlight shone in my eyes.

I heard someone calling my name, but I couldn’t answer.

That was my last memory.

*

Yes. I don’t want to die.

I never once tried to die.

I just did what I could do, from where I was.

Because it was something I could do. Because it was something only I could do.

In the white light, I opened my eyes.

*

Even in this situation, Yuka felt she couldn’t do nothing.

The mass of flesh that had been approaching with its mouth wide open as if to swallow both of them at once suddenly turned its head.

Running away might have been the right decision.

But would they survive by running away?

Perhaps it would have no meaning beyond extending their lives pathetically for a while.

Koko had a blank face.

Supporting the limp Koko and standing up, Yuka swung her knife.

She tried to cut the black threads within reach.

Wanting to help somehow.

Not wanting to burden Kotone alone.

Even while shedding tears, she moved diligently.

Drop, drop.

As if her wish was granted, the threads binding Kotone’s body fell one by one.

The wounds caused by those threads slowly, gradually healed.

Again and again.

Yuka kept moving for Kotone’s sake.

*

Kotone’s face was looking at the mirror.

Kagami didn’t know if this was a positive thing or not.

What was Kotone seeing through the mirror?

It was a mirror that showed one’s true nature. With such a body, it might actually have the opposite effect, she thought.

But this was all she could do.

Kagami thought that even if Kotone opened her mouth and tore her apart, there was nothing she could do about it.

After all, it was Kagami who had made Kotone like this.

“…I’m sorry.”

Kagami opened her mouth.

“…I’m sorry.”

Did Kotone hear?

Could she hear?

Even so.

Kagami prayed.

Even so, in the final moment, even at the very end when everything was over.

That Kotone could exist as Kotone—

Blink.

Kotone’s face blinked.

Seeing that face, Kagami’s heart raced.