Ch.95Chapter 14. Accident (10)

That acrid black smoke that should never be inhaled.

The intense flames that feel like they could set your body on fire just by standing nearby.

Naturally, sweat poured down my body. Black ash clung to every part of me not covered by clothing and equipment. I probably looked like quite a sight if I were to go outside.

Come to think of it, in my memory, this wasn’t such a distant story.

It hadn’t even been half a year since I crossed over to this world. To me, it felt like I had just taken a short break from work.

Was the weight of the equipment bearable because I was used to it, or because Nirlas had fitted it for me?

It was a strange appearance.

I was wearing clothes made of my own blood over my school uniform, with an oxygen tank strapped to my back.

And being so short too. Would I be able to properly carry someone if I found them?

Well, I’d find out when I tried.

I picked up a fire extinguisher placed in the hallway. It wouldn’t completely put out the fire, but it would be enough for emergency use when needed.

Then I moved forward and shouted.

“Is anyone there?!”

In truth, shouting like this doesn’t guarantee that responses will be heard clearly. The sound of the raging fire is incredibly intense, and the firefighting gear covering my ears makes it difficult to hear anything but the loudest sounds.

But I had to do it anyway.

I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them again.

A few drops of blood fell from my stinging left wrist, and I felt something crawling up inside my clothes.

The small creature that climbed up my body squeaked “kyu” into my ear.

This way.

Nirlas had definitely provided the “necessities” I had asked for.

I headed in the direction Chi was pointing.

The door was slightly open. Could there be someone inside? Even if there was, it might already be too late. With the fire having spread this much, they would likely have inhaled smoke.

I opened the door slowly, bit by bit.

I could still see flames inside the house. Fortunately, opening the door didn’t cause an explosion.

It was thanks to someone who had left the door slightly open while escaping.

Flames licking up the walls like darting tongues.

The further I went inside, the more chills ran down my spine.

There’s something in here.

The fire seemed to have started from this house.

Could a fire cart still be lurking inside?

“…”

But I turned toward where a person was, not the fire cart.

If I left the fire cart behind and lost track of it, many more people might die in the next incident.

But there’s a difference between “might die” and “will die.”

Not knowing what might happen in the future, all I could do was take the collapsed person in front of me outside.

I took deep breaths inside my mask. It was swelteringly hot inside my clothes. Being able to block fire also meant blocking oxygen. The inside was probably completely soaked with sweat by now.

…If someone were to tell the person who escaped leaving their sister behind, they might curse them.

But in a situation where fire is spreading all around, it’s impossible to think clearly. If you’re in different rooms, you might only remember after escaping in panic.

Besides, rescuers shouldn’t blame people for such things.

I entered the house. I removed the safety pin from the fire extinguisher and moved forward with it pointed ahead of me.

I couldn’t hear anyone coughing.

“Kyu.”

I was simply following the guiding sound next to my ear.

The place Chi pointed to was a room inside the house. Fire from the living room had spread to the door.

I sprayed all the contents of the fire extinguisher at that door, then grabbed the firefighter’s axe hanging at my waist.

With an axe similar in color to the one I usually used, I broke down the burning wooden door. Fortunately, the fire hadn’t spread inside the room.

Black smoke escaped rapidly through the top of the doorway.

The window in the room was open. Someone must have opened it to try to breathe.

…Yes, there was a child collapsed inside.

About the same age as Shii, perhaps.

I knelt down beside them.

When I placed my hand near their chest, I could feel faint movement.

I attached the auxiliary mask from my oxygen tank to the child’s mouth.

Then I carefully took them in my arms.

A body and weight too heavy for someone my size to carry easily.

But I had no choice. I just had to grit my teeth and move them.

Taking deep breaths through the oxygen mask, I left the room.

Fortunately, I didn’t hear any other “kyu” sounds in my ear.

Slowly, I came down the stairs.

Hot air rises. That’s also why black smoke rises toward the ceiling when there’s a fire.

So going down a few floors makes you significantly safer.

“Phew.”

Feeling the temperature gradually dropping, I made it to the first floor.

“What!?”

The fire department hadn’t arrived yet, but there were a few police officers on the first floor. Perhaps they had come to check on the situation?

“A firefighter?”

“Have they arrived…!”

Do they think I came from another direction?

The clothes I was wearing were a different color from what regular firefighters wear. They were completely red, but since the form was identical, it was understandable they would mistake me for one.

Not all firefighting gear is yellow, after all.

The officer who took the child from me looked up at me with a smiling expression, but suddenly his face stiffened.

“Huh?”

He saw my face beyond the oxygen mask that completely covered it.

A face that had just become a high school student at best.

But I turned back before the officer could call out to me.

“Hey…!”

But he didn’t follow me. He was holding the child.

He’d probably think later that he had seen wrong or something like that. That was enough.

*

I came back up with the firefighter’s axe and found another fire extinguisher in the hallway.

There was also a fire hydrant, but with this body, I couldn’t handle the forcefully gushing water. If there was a kink somewhere, the water might not come out properly either.

Holding the fire extinguisher, I went back into the room I had come from.

The chill I hadn’t felt when going downstairs returned. A strange coldness that could be felt even in the midst of such hot flames.

“…”

Alright.

How do you catch a hiding yokai?

Yuka—

Yes, Yuka had slashed through the air.

I slowly moved forward, looking for where the fire had started.

If this fire was really caused by a yokai called a fire cart, the fire would be burning at its source.

The living room.

…It was a place where everything had already burned black with only ashes remaining. Fire was burning from the ceiling and walls.

The chill I felt grew stronger.

And I sprayed the fire extinguisher in that direction.

As white powder covered the floor and ceiling, the flames weakened for just a moment.

I didn’t miss that opportunity and dropped the fire extinguisher on the floor.

I raised my firefighter’s axe made of my blood—

And swung it at the sofa that was still burning vigorously despite being directly hit by the fire extinguisher’s suppressant.

Crack.

The axe stuck in the air, and a gap opened.

I was right to do it the way I saw.

I pulled the axe out and then drove it in hard again, like when breaking down the door. Thanks to the weight of the axe itself, the gap in the air widened with a tearing sound.

After repeating this a few more times, I lunged toward the gap.

*

“Kotone! Kotone!”

Yuka held onto the wailing Koko tightly. Koko looked like she was about to go somewhere.

She probably knew where Kotone had gone after disappearing.

“No, Koko.”

Yuka said that while hugging Koko tightly from behind.

Koko can change her appearance. And she can move fast enough that people don’t notice.

But would it be right for Koko to go into those flames?

Yuka didn’t think of her as a “normal person” as Kotone claimed. But if she had even a little human blood mixed in, she couldn’t move while completely ignoring physical forces like yokai could.

She would definitely get hurt if she went in there.

Even if Kotone had gone in with some method in mind, Yuka couldn’t let Koko get hurt by blindly following her.

“Koko. What did Kotone say? In front of other people…”

“But Kotone, Kotone!”

The attention of people around turned toward them.

In fact, the gazes on them were already far from normal.

After all, Kotone, who had been fighting with Yuka just moments ago, had vanished somewhere. Especially that girl who had been watching them was staring with wide eyes.

That much didn’t matter. If she brought it up, they could just treat her like a crazy person.

People are often excessively cynical about stories that deviate from reason, so whatever that girl claimed would be dismissed as her imagination, a misperception, or a made-up story.

The problem was…

“Kotone! Kotone!”

Koko, who was screaming in front of Yuka.

Koko was probably doing this to hold onto her sanity. She had done similar things several times before, and Kotone had always given her specific instructions.

Koko listens well to Kotone. At least if Yuka kept reminding her of that fact, Koko wouldn’t shake her off and go inside.

“…”

In truth, Yuka felt the same way.

She wanted to follow Kotone inside.

But what could she do in there? Inhaling toxic gases at a fire scene would make you lose consciousness within minutes. If she survived, she would only have hindered Kotone, and if she died, it would truly be a meaningless death.

…That was what Yuka’s reason was telling her.

“Koko, just wait a moment. If we wait, Kotone will come out too.”

Just as Yuka said that,

“Oh, over there!”

Someone shouted.

Yuka and Koko’s eyes turned in that direction simultaneously. Someone was coming out from the first floor.

A child about Shii’s size, covered in soot, was being carried out in a police officer’s arms.

“Ah…!”

The child who had been crying while reporting the fire collapsed to the ground. This must be the “younger sibling” the child had mentioned.

“See, Koko. Now surely—”

Yuka said with a smile. Kotone, making us worry like this, I won’t let this slide.

First, let’s take her to the hospital. After making sure there’s nothing wrong with her body, we’ll go to a nearby meat restaurant and feed her lots of meat.

It must have been tough. She might fall asleep right away.

…Tomorrow is the sports festival. She needed to come out safely. Yuka really wanted to see Kotone and Koko participating in the cheerleading activities.

So she had to come out.

She had to come out, but.

“…Huh?”

But that was it.

Just the few officers who had gone in earlier and the child they brought out.

Before she knew it, Yuka was pushing through the crowd and moving forward. With one hand, she was pulling Koko, who had a blank expression.

“Excuse me, officer. I’m sorry.”

Yuka approached the closest officer standing inside the safety line.

It was the person who had brought out the child earlier.

“…The person who brought out that child?”

“Hm? Ah.”

There was a dubious look on the officer’s face. Not a good sign.

“…There was definitely someone wearing firefighter clothes, but when I came down, the fire department hadn’t arrived yet. We’re trying to figure it out, but the flames are still too intense to go up.”

“…”

Yuka’s mouth fell open.

From the officer calling them a firefighter, they must have been properly dressed, but Yuka could immediately guess that person was Kotone.

After all, Kotone was a child who could create things with her own blood.

Yuka immediately turned to look at Koko.

Koko was blankly looking up at the burning mansion.

“Koko?”

“Kotone, disappeared.”

“…Huh?”

Yuka’s mind went blank at those words.

“Koko, what do you mean?”

“It’s like that time.”

“That time?”

“The beach.”

“…Ah.”

That time.

When Yuka and Kotone had cut through the air to enter the nest to catch Raiju.

Koko had come looking for Kotone but couldn’t find her and was kidnapped.

So… they couldn’t relax yet.

Yuka didn’t know how Koko sensed Kotone. Whether she felt the same way when Kotone died, or if she would feel differently as long as her body was still here.

However—

At least, she could tell that Kotone was in a very dangerous situation.

“…”

Yuka nodded and searched through her bag.

There were quite a few talismans inside.

“…Alright.”

It would definitely be extremely dangerous. In fact, what she was thinking of doing was nothing more or less than a stupid act.

But if she could just find the nest.

If she could cross over to that place, the situation inside would be very different from here.

If they escaped before the nest completely collapsed, they could come out to a safe place.

“…”

Yuka took a moment to catch her breath and placed her hand on Koko’s shoulder as she sat on the ground.

“Koko. I need your help.”

“Woo?”

There were tears in Koko’s eyes as she looked at Yuka.

…This too was a change in Koko. The more time they spent together, the more expressive Koko became, with a wider range of facial expressions.

She was learning one by one. A child who knew nothing before and was only now beginning to find happiness.

Yuka hoped that happiness would last for a long, long time.

And she didn’t want to lose her friend either.

To be honest, the latter was much stronger.

Yuka spoke in a small voice, almost whispering.

“I need a way to get into the building. Can you tell where Kotone was just before she disappeared?”

“Woo…”

Koko rubbed her eyes and nodded.

“Good. Then, to the floor below that. I’d like you to guide us as far as we can go. I’ll figure out the rest somehow.”

There were several handkerchiefs in the bag. And compression bandages, and a few items that could treat minor injuries.

With just the handkerchiefs among these, they could avoid the smoke to some extent.

…All these were things she carried because of Kotone. She was a child who could get hurt unexpectedly anywhere, anytime.

“Can you do it?”

“…”

Koko stared at Yuka for a moment, then,

“Yes!”

She answered loudly.

*

Yes, this is how it comes out.

I thought while holding the axe with both hands.

And I was also thinking that tools should be used according to their purpose.

A Japanese sword, in fact, is almost useless in normal situations. Would you use it for cooking, or for chopping firewood?

But as a user, I can say that having a long blade means having an advantage in reach.

When facing a huge burning bipedal cat, I thought a Japanese sword would be better than an axe.

…Well, I knew to some extent from the original work’s description.

But seeing it directly, the intimidation is no joke.

The nest looked similar to reality, but it wasn’t reality.

It’s like a kind of decompression chamber connecting the otherworld where yokai live and reality. Or rather, it would be like the inside of a large spaceship.

A spaceship that yokai use before stepping into reality. A realm they can’t carelessly exit until they make suitable spacesuits.

The same applies to humans.

I had thrown off everything I had been wearing on my head. They were all too heavy and cumbersome for fighting monsters.

The corpse that the cat was leisurely eating was laid on a sofa that looked exactly like the one where I had been.

Of course, it was after being burned black. Beyond saving.

And I.

“Ugh.”

I was bleeding from my arm. The cat’s claws had grazed me as they passed by. Only the tip had scratched me slightly, and since the claws themselves weren’t on fire, it would heal.

“…”

I gripped the axe handle tightly in my right hand and extended it toward the cat.

The center of gravity was off, and I didn’t have much strength in my limbs. I seemed to have used up all my energy climbing and descending stairs.

But still.

“Haaah!”

Disproportionate to its size, the giant cat with fire on its back lunged at me, making a sound similar to our house cat Kuro.

Bang!

“Kyao!?”

But this time, the attack didn’t reach me.

Blood was still flowing from my wrist hidden inside my sleeve. I could clearly feel that I was still connected to Nirlas even in this realm.

So, that means I can use my ability.

I create tentacles with the blood flowing from my left wrist and extend them forward when needed.

The amount of bleeding will increase, but it was a sufficiently useful ability even at this level.

“…If I catch you, Sasaki and Shii will be safe, right?”

“Haaak!”

“…I don’t understand how Kosuzu or whoever is using you, or if you’re preventing the fire department from coming, but…”

I’ll leave that to Kagami.

After hearing my story, they’ll be investigating in their own way. Some results will come out.

The cat tried to clean the blood on its face.

The moment it raised its front paw to wipe its face, I lunged toward the cat, the fire cart.

I swung my left arm to extend a tentacle, but this time the cat changed its posture and quickly dodged downward.

The cat was incredibly agile despite being much larger than me.

Hiss.

The tentacle that touched the fire on the cat’s back writhed and then fell to the floor, burned.

I brought down my raised right hand.

Thunk!

A dull sound was heard as the heavy firefighter’s axe hit the floor. It left a slight scratch mark on the floor.

“Shaaah!”

As the cat made a snake-like sound and swung its front paws consecutively toward me, I dodged by falling backward.

And this time, I wrapped my newly drawn left-hand tentacle around the firefighter’s axe and swung it toward the cat.

The cat hadn’t anticipated this type of attack and couldn’t completely avoid my strike.

Chop!

A long wound appeared on the cat’s front paw. Blood splattered, and the cat’s howl was heard. Sounds like a cat in heat.

I tried to get up immediately—

“Ah.”

I knelt on one knee.

My body was approaching its limit.

“…Damn it.”

Not being able to move properly with the target right in front of me was a fatal mistake. Not that I regretted my earlier actions.

I can’t die, though.

“Grrrr…”

The cat, extremely angry, slowly got up.

Its left arm dangled. Ha, serves you right.

Thinking your prey wouldn’t resist, how stupid.

…

Hmm.

Now it’s really tough.

The firefighting gear that had been covering my body melted away. I instantly became covered in blood.

Yes. This fire suit was also made from my blood. The oxygen tank and oxygen mask were the same.

“Haa.”

I tried to force my body to move and escape. I have no intention of dying. Even now, no method comes to mind, but I firmly believe there must be a way to survive.

How, how can I make things proceed according to the prophecy?

The firefighter’s axe is gone now—

“…Haa.”

This sigh wasn’t from me.

Somehow, other kids had come to this living room.

“…Yuka? Koko?”

“You idiot.”

Yuka said, looking at me.

“You came to such a dangerous place alone?”

“How?”

“That’s what I want to ask. What were you thinking, coming all the way here like this?”

“Kotone, stupid.”

Even Koko.

…Somehow, the tension suddenly dropped.

“Koko. I’ll leave Kotone to you.”

“Yes!”

At Yuka’s words, Koko immediately came to me.

“Kotone, you don’t have to worry anymore.”

“…Haha.”

At Koko’s words, I laughed somewhat dejectedly.