episode_0029

*****

Ah, I almost died. Isn’t that what they always say? Well, that’s also true. You should have overcome the danger of death once or twice.

Besides, if I were to be honest, this time wasn’t that tough even among the dangers of death. If I was going to die by being surrounded by hundreds of monsters, I would have died long ago.

“Ugh, ah… .”

“Have you come to your senses?”

The first to come to his senses was Surt, who had the best injuries. Surtur looked around in surprise and looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Fah, Fafnir, right?”

“Yes.”

If you thought you were dead but came back to life by luck, it is common for the current situation to feel like a dream.

I thought I would make fun of it. I didn’t bother opening my mouth any further because I felt like Surtur, who was currently unable to come to his senses, would take it unnecessarily seriously.

“You saved me… ?”

“Is that so?”

“I see. also… .”

A deep, bitter smile appeared on Surtur’s face as he lowered his head.

Look at this. I saved this guy’s life, but he doesn’t look very happy. You’re not being polite to heroes.

“Why is it such a death prize?”

“… In the end, I wasn’t much help this time either. He’s the leader of the team. Just like last time, if it weren’t for you this time too, I would have made Ra On or Jeong Young die… .”

“Hmm. Well, I guess that’s right.”

Surtur’s expression didn’t change much, as if he already knew my affirmation. In fact, if I weren’t there, both the Surtur team and Cyclops would have died in that subspace or been used as hostages for me.

However, there is no law that says you have to see everything in the world from only one perspective.

“Look at this.”

He lifted the top of his hero suit up to his chest. Wow, now his head is turning almost reflexively.

“… I know you’re a man, so wear a proper hero suit. Looking at the current situation, it’s a bit… . No, I’m not saying I don’t like it, but… .”

“What nonsense? That’s not what I’m trying to say, so look at it carefully.”

“You, a woman exposing herself like that… , noodle… .”

Surtur’s voice gradually faded as he slowly turned his head towards me while saying something. That’s right. Because my body is not in good shape right now.

“You are hurt… . Wait a minute, then it’s not the blood of your enemies that’s all over your magical girl clothes—”

“It’s mostly the enemy’s blood, but it’s probably not a lot of mine either.”

The suit’s automatic recovery function works hard, so on the outside it looks fine even though it is covered in blood.

However, if you look closely at the underside of clothes or exposed arms, it is more difficult to find healthy parts such as cuts, lacerations, and bruises. Oh, the school uniform I was wearing was hard to move because the blood had hardened, so I tore it up and threw it away.

I told Surt what happened after I entered the rift. The person who greeted me as I entered the crack was Dr. Goe, an executive at Genesis. This guy told me to become his research material and attacked with his chimera unit.

I will omit a detailed description of it. Because a main character who constantly stands out isn’t cool!

Just run away, run away, and run away again. I refrained from fighting as much as possible and focused on running away to kill time.

Although they are powerful for a chimera, only about twenty or thirty can be dealt with somehow. However, if it becomes hundreds of units, it is really unreasonable.

Paradoxically, the reason why this abnormal escape was possible was because the number of enemies was unusually large. Of course, most of the numerous monsters had vision, and my magical power, strengthened by their hostile gaze, allowed me to somehow hold out and endure in the wide field.

“How did one side of the space break while holding out against the chimera unit? When I saw that, I got the idea. Oh, I thought that if I just destroy that thing, something will work out. So, it is true that I saved you, but you also saved me.”

As you can see from my current physical condition, even though I only ran away, I was completely devastated. If he had continued as he was, he would probably have died or been captured and abused as a test subject.

The fact that the Surt team saved me was by no means a joke or pretense.

“Yes, I see. haha. It wasn’t meaningless.”

Did he realize from my expression that I was really speaking?

dump. Surtur’s body, which had sat up, lay down on its back. A slightly brighter smile appeared on Surtur’s face.

“Fafnir.”

“Huh? Why?”

“If you go back, give me some training.”

“… ? Well, I can give you as much training as you want as long as you tell me. What is this all of a sudden? Don’t do that now. It’s like a death flag.”

“Death flag. Isn’t it all over anyway?”

“It’s not over.”

Jump up. Surtur, who had been lying down, got up again. I guess he felt like he was revealing something, but he let his guard down because he thought it was over.

“Ah, it’s not over yet!? But the executives at Genesis say you—”

“There are two executives from Genesis who came here. And the person you saw couldn’t finish it properly because the space collapsed.”

“Then where are those guys?”

“Umm. I’m just guessing, too. Maybe they’re trying hard to hold on to the monsters in subspace so they don’t jump out.”

When subspace collapses, the beings inside it are thrown out in all directions. Of course, if that happens, their power will be shattered, so they will try to prevent it as much as possible.

Where I am now, besides me and Surtur, all the other kids are lying down. Seeing that we spread out and didn’t bounce off, it would be clear that the enemy was at least trying to prevent us from dispersing.

What constitutes speculation is why there is a difference in the time when we and the other side appear. The place where the Surturs were was similar to this, but the place where I was was ignorantly increasing the size of the space, so I think it was a reaction to that.

“Anyway, it’s something we’re thankful for. Before I went in to rescue you, I sent a rescue request to the bully, or rather, the trainer. Considering the time spent fighting, if you hold on just a little longer, help will come.”

“… no. I heard it from an executive named Lilith. They say that inside that barrier, time passes faster. Maybe not as much time has passed since you came in as you think… ”

“Really? Ah~, it’s ruined.”

So, in reality, there is still a long way to go before a rescue request comes? Rather, if that happens, does the reason the other side comes out so late is because of the collapse of subspace and the reaction of manipulating time?

“Either way, what you do will not change. If your stamina is roughly restored, wake up the kids who can be woken up and run away.”

“Running away, what about you?”

“Of course, I should stay here and drag it with aggro.”

“… … .”

After hearing that, Surtur made all kinds of protests. It’s not that he said it out loud, but rather through facial expressions or hesitating gestures.

But he didn’t stop my actions with words. Perhaps he is thinking that he has no right to interfere with my judgment or something like that. Of course, I don’t have the ability to read minds, so this is just a guess.

In the end, this is what Surt said out loud.

“… Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I will help you, ”

It was simple to tell them to hurry up and go since they weren’t here. But for some reason, the Surtur in front of me felt like it lacked confidence compared to the Surtur in the original.

It goes without saying how bad it is for education to tell a child who lacks confidence to skip something because he or she can’t do it.

And I also know terribly well how much I hate being powerless.

“Of course. Please think of a way together.”

“How?”

“Did I come in alone to save you without any measures because I was crazy?”

In fact, it’s true that he just came in without any countermeasures, but anyway, after seeing the situation inside, he came up with a plan, so isn’t that a good thing? There is no need to clearly explain the context.

Fortunately, unlike the gangster, our pure protagonist seemed to understand that my words were plausible.

“That’s true too. Then what is that measure?”

“Do you remember the roar I made when fighting the Sword Demon?”

“Ah, that creepy thing.”

It’s creepy. Well, since he was an ally to humans, he was excluded, so it could have ended with that much appreciation. When we encounter an enemy, an instinctive sense of fear penetrates our bones. It’s not for nothing that the old swordsman stopped his sword.

“That’s called Dragon Fear. This is very effective against monsters.”

The dragon that fought during the 3.8 Defense War also controlled the monster’s unit with its dragon peer. Of course, since I am not skilled enough, I would be happy if it was just a hindrance to my actions.

“But after writing it once, I have no idea how to write it. So let’s think about how we can use them together until they pop out of here.”

“Peer… . huh. okay. I’m asking just in case, but what about shouting with magic in your voice?”

“If it were that simple, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

“… That’s true too.”

That was the first thing I tried when I encountered Professor Goe’s unit. Let out a roar with magical power.

Of course, since it wasn’t a peer, I just said, “Wow!” Because I was yelling, it didn’t work at all, so I jumped right away.

Even after agreeing, Surtur began to groan and think about various things. Well, I don’t have any special expectations. I thought about it quite a bit, but I couldn’t come up with any different answer.

The answer to the problem came from an unexpected place.

“… Discord between body and soul, hey.”

“Cyclops!? Are you awake?”

“To some extent… .”

Among the fallen people, Cyclops was barely able to get up.

Compared to other kids who fought for a long time, there were fewer signs of being attacked, but Cyclops’ level as an awakener itself was low. Surtur stopped Cyclops, who was trying to force himself up, and laid him down again.

“What does it mean, the mismatch between body and soul? Oh, I’m not urging you. Please speak slowly.”

“… Fafnir’s spirit is very strong… . However, the shapes of the body and soul are very different… .”

That’s it. Wasn’t the potential distorted in the first place because of the mismatch between body and soul?

“If the body and soul are that different… , there may be problems with the use of potential… . I think the problem is that Fafnir, an alien being, can’t use the power of a dragon… .”

“And, indeed… ! Cyclops, you’re smart.”

“Well, that’s not true… , ugh.”

Cyclops is trying to bend down without knowing what to do with Surtur’s praise. However, the movement seems to have touched a painful area, so it is silently trembling without being able to move.

It’s cute, like a little rabbit. Although it is wounded.

If I were Lee Hyeong-gye, it would definitely have been an accurate guess. This is because heteromorphic species can usually use the abilities of the corresponding animal. Examples include strengthening muscle strength and enhancing the sense of smell, and there are cases where heteromorphic creatures that turn into monsters have unique abilities.

In my case, I didn’t think it was relevant because it wasn’t actually a heterogeneous potential, but… .

Considering that I actually used Dragon Fear, maybe there isn’t much of a difference in practice? So, the reason I can’t use the dragon’s skills skillfully is because my soul hasn’t adapted to the body yet?

“But the fact remains that there is no other way. The soul doesn’t change overnight, right?”

“Still… , I listened to the conversation while lying down just now, but you used Dragon Fear… ? Then just a little bit more than now… , just a little more, if the soul adapts to the body… , I wonder if I will be able to use it somehow… ? If only there was a little opportunity… .”

“Hmm. An opportunity, an opportunity.”

Even if I say that, it doesn’t come to mind. In the first place, adapting to a girl’s body means that my soul will become like a girl, right? I just don’t like it that way. Of course, since this is an emergency situation, it is not the time to discuss this or that.

“Wouldn’t it be okay to act like a girl?”

“Behaving like a girl? What is that?”

“Well, well? When I say that, nothing else comes to mind.”

Well, if you were to ask Surtur, a man, about his behavior like a girl, he wouldn’t come up with anything special. Likewise, I am a man too. I looked at Cyclops with high expectations, but

“Cute, Chuck… ?”

I guess I haven’t come to my senses yet and I’m talking nonsense.

“Okay, pretend to be cute! That’s it!”

“Have you come to your senses too?”

“… ? No, I’m still sick, but I’m fine now, right? For now, let’s focus more on you than on me. Pretending to be cute, no matter how much you try, you’ll end up losing money, right?”

It’s not worth the money at all. One more page of my dark history has been added. However, it is too much to just reject it coldly, as Surt’s ‘I’m being helpful now!’ The aura pricked my conscience so much.

If I think about it carefully, I may or may not have done something like that the day I wrote Dragon Fear. Yeah, I’ve already tried pretending to be cute a few times anyway. If you’ve done it once, you can’t do it twice.

I don’t even have the feeling that these thoughts are pushing me further and further into the abyss.

… Oh, what? My body does what it wants again… !

“Magical girl Fafnir appears! Bad villains aiming for treasure will be hit with my breath!”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“It’s more painful to keep quiet and watch… .”

Now that I think about it, this suit has a function that forces me to say transformation lines when I try to say them… . I feel like the lines have been upgraded somehow.

Surtur’s firm smile is a thing of the past, but the disgusted expression on Cyclops’s face when he saw something he couldn’t see pierces my heart.

Well, it looks like my soul is very disgusting to the kids who have it. If that kind of person pretended to be this cute, then yes, that would happen… .

“Well, I’m sorry about something. So, do you think something has changed?”

“… I’ll try it now and come back. If there is no change, just wait and see.”

Fearing that it might affect the patients lying down, he stuck his head out the window and roared with magical power. Yes, there is no change at all.

Well, I’ve done this a few times so far, but if it’s going to work, it should have been done a long time ago. I’m such a fool too.

“Being cute is useless.”

“I think so. Then there must be something more.”

As if the unspoken pressure not to mention what had just happened had worked, Surtur pretended to be thinking about something, and the Cyclops quietly turned his head.

Does this mean my dark history will end with one more page added? While thinking like that, Surtur must have remembered something and said, “Ah.”

“Is there anything that came to mind?”

“If there is, there is… , don’t be angry?”

“Are you making that sound even when you just saw it?”

“That’s true too,” Surtur said and stood up. Then, he asked me to stand up too, so I did. What are you trying to do?

It didn’t take long for the question to be resolved. Surt reached out and stroked my hair, as if it might touch his shoulder.

“… … .”

“Well, what is it? When I was at the facility, I liked it when girls did this to me. So, I was wondering if stroking one’s head might be girlish behavior… .”

“… … .”

“Haha, this is a bit… ?”

“You say that?!!!”

He immediately hit Surtur with a headbutt. Because of his height, Surtur must have entered the solar plexus properly and rolled around on the floor, clutching his stomach.

“That’s not a girl, it’s just a kid who likes it!”

“Well, that headbutting is a bit harsh, isn’t it…? . You, horn… .”

Change your perspective and think about it! No matter how much the soul is influenced by the body, how old am I to be able to enjoy being stroked on the head by a boy?

No, it’s not an age issue. No man would want to be petted by a man. Even if my sister pats me, I’m so embarrassed that I’m going to refuse!

“Ah, soul, it has changed a bit.”

“!? Well, what… !?”

“Horns attached to the soul. It used to be short, but now it’s almost the same size as my body.”

can not believe it. I immediately ran to the window as if denying reality. When I tried to vent my anger and roar with all my magic, I realized one thing.

ah. It feels like this.

“────────!!!”

“Ugh, what, what!? Enemy!?”

Grrrr. A different energy spread through the air than the simple roar just before.

Jabberwock woke up scared from his unconscious state due to Dragon Fear. Is this something to laugh about?

“Okay, success!”

“Sure. It worked. ha ha ha… .”

Unlike me, who felt a little self-destructive at the fact that his body had given in (?), Surtur was smiling brightly, as if he was happy that he had been of help. There’s no way I could spit on a smiling face, so I’m just upset.

“Thank goodness. When dealing with those guys with this, it’s a bit more extreme.”

I can’t spit, but I can make fists.

“No, I was joking, but did you hit me this hard? .”

“What, what? I woke up feeling desperate, but why are you being beaten by Fafnir, Surtur? Can anyone explain the situation?”

“My head hurts… .”

As I looked at the inside of the shelter, which quickly became a mess, I could only sigh and think that it would be better if the Genesis guys didn’t show up.

*****