Chapter 165

Volume 2

Chapter 144

『Okay, Minnalis, Shuria, time to wake up. No time to sleep…』

「Hmm?」

「Huhh?」

From far away, I could hear someone calling Shuria and my name, and I felt someone toss ice cold liquid all over my face.

The cold seemed to transmit each drop into a never-ending drip.

「…here…this is…」

I opened my eyes with my consciousness still blurry.

I could see the contours of Shuria facing me as her limpid eyes finally met mine.

I started to get up and looked around; the place I was in felt like something from a dream that was completely unreal.

A wide legal-looking room, with milkish-white colored walls.

My consciousness finally cleared, but my heart still felt numb.

In front of me stood a 24 or 25 year old woman in white.

White hair, white skin, wearing a white habit of some sort. Her hair spilled down to her collar in thick curls much like a sheep’s.

After glancing at her, I looked down at my body, and checked my condition and my equipment.

『Okayokayokay! You’ve been locked up! There’s only one way out of here! From now you…hey, waitwaitwaitWAIT!! What are you doing?!』

Clank, suddenly white chains formed around our bodies, rendering me unable to swing my sword while making shuria drop the knife she grabbed onto the ground with a clank.

「What do you mean WHAT? If there’s an enemy that shows up in front of us, we’re going to attack it, right?!」

『Why do you think THAT I am an enemy?』

「Because you said you’re locking us up! Minnalis, we have to hurry, attack her, then get out of here!!」

Hurry, if I don’t hurry…

I have to hurry and save my master, my master, my master!!

『Wait, sorry! It was a joke! It was a joke I’m telling you!』

「Hurry up and let us out!」「I have to save Kaito-sama! Don’t get in my way!」

I made an ice spear with the all the magic I could muster, and Shuria flung the knife in an arc with her magic string.

『Wah, wahwahwah, you two are dangerous! My eyes are spinning, I mean, this hero of yours is not that big of a deal!!』

But still, she spun around and around, lightly, and just like she was gravity-less, danced in the air, dodging all our attacks.

『Time out! Time out! Why are you girls trying to act scary all the sudden?! Towa-chan, help me!!』

Suddenly, greaaak, the sounds of gears grinding and the white ceiling turned into an emerald green.

『Well, well, I told you I would be leaving first. Your love for fun, I guess, didn’t make that obvious to you.』

「?! What?!!」

The woman before me’s hair turned the color of jade, her clothes the color of emerald, as she spread something like snow all around.

Her playful ways disappeared and were replaced by a calmer appearance, almost like a rushing of cool, placid streams of water.

Her tone and voice changed, and her appearance became irrevocably different.

『Well, with that said, even if I were to continue conversing with you, it seems that you wouldn’t behave yourselves. —Bonds borne from the covering wind 『Link of the SpillWind!』』

「Whoaa, what?!」

「Eep! What, what is this?!」

Even though we were cautious, we couldn’t stop whatever magic she was now throwing at us.

This magic spell that was finely woven with magical power seemed to bind every movable part of our body with a creak, creak, creak, as we were made to sit upon the floor by force.

Shuria and I were forced into a correct sitting posture called a seiza that master had taught us before.

Even though I tried to resist the magic power with my own more powerful force, her magical force simply respread over my body and I couldn’t control it any longer.

「Agh…ugh…this…why?」

Even if I tried to get out of this magical force that held me in this strange position even with all my force pushing against it, the power simply pushed back from me breaking through.

『Ah, that power of yours is one technique you have. It’s one of the ideals of magic that this world’s magic has. I can settle that surge of magic and bodily power, however. There’s no way I can give an example to explain it, so wouldn’t you just stop and listen to me quietly for once?』

She smiled with a smirk, and let her power flow a bit more.

She gave a look like she was waaaaay a higher class than us, and threatened us. Then we knew that she pretty much was right.

But we shouldn’t just let that stand. We couldn’t let that stand.

「Uwaaaaaghhh!」

「Errrghhhh!!」

『?! Hey, hey, stop already! If you keep trying to break out of that, the reaction will just hurt your body! Those who go against the flow of the magic will just hurt their own spirits. Do you simply want to hurt yourselves?!』

Creakcreakcreak, my body screamed against the places that were held down by magic.

But who cares? Who cares if my body hurts?

I can’t feel any connection to this pain to what I feel about my master.

I have to help, help, help!!

「I can…take…ittttttt!」「Kaito, we have to heeelp himmmmm!!」

『Hmph, weird. I don’t think your hero has the psychological ability left to transcend this world…oh, maybe, you’re trying to die so your soul can meet his soul, since he’s dead? Now that just makes me disappointed in you.』

「「UGHHHH!」」

At the same time the bonds inexplicably began to break, the extreme pain caused my whole body to collapse.

My eyes clamped shut in severe pain, and I entered a world of darkness.

What brought me back to a slight consciousness was the figure of my master spilling blood and being face-up on the ground.

『Wellll…you’ve got some guts breaking through these bonds. There’s nothing logical about it. Even if you two were to get out of here, what would you do out there like that anyway?』

「To fall down at a time like this…I can’t take it. An opponent that can turn master’s power into something powerless, I have to hurry, or…」

「Kaito-sama will…disappear… I can’t find him inside me. Hurry, I have to hurry to see him!」

Again, there was no answer…nothing.

Save us, help us, give us your power.

We walked together in a puddle of blood, ate the fruit of the revenge that we wrought.

All we did is take, and still haven’t given anything back.

We could have been killed, but you were the one left dead…

『…Hm? Wait, do you think your connection to him has disappeared? If that’s so, his death and your death won’t be linked. That IS strange, I guess there is no consistency in your theory, huh? Hmm…hard to understand…wait? Ah, oh, wait, maybe I should be the one to explain. Lunaris is too much of a child. Meteria won’t be able to explain well because of soulless people like you, and no one else will work either…? No, that’s too much….』

『Shut up!! Towako, you’re smart, so why does this present so much of a problem for you!? Luna too. but you both know that you have to know, you’re women, right?!』

Gaggiiiiiiii, and the ceiling was now colored a deep pink.

Right before our eyes, the woman’s hair and clothes suddenly had the same color as the ceiling, while she spread light pink, shimmering dust all over the room.

This woman angrily flailed her arms and legs and the whole atmosphere changed again.

However, again Gakiiin, and the right hand wall changed to green, and pooong, a five-year old girl split off from her.

The girl looked almost like the woman had gone back in years, and her hair and clothes were emerald.

『Hn, hn, hnp! Hey, Meteria, you got emotional real quick! This has nothing to do with my sex or explanation ability! I always try to progress the conversation logically…』

『I’m tellingggg youuuu, there is no logic in a woman’s heart! You idiot, idiot, IDIOT!』

『So, you are…you’re calling me an idiot now?!』

『An emotional person can’t listen to logic, you know?! Go and sit in the corner of Towa-chan’s room! Come on, come on!』

『Ah, wa, wait a second, that’s a really disagreeable way to treat me!』

She was about to freak out, but then was pushed by the woman into the corner.

『First, I have to heal you okay? … the drop of a smile, 『Ring of Angel – Blue Healing!』』

The pink woman stretched out her hand and issued magic, creating a shining rind over our heads, as we lie fallen on the ground.

From the inside of the ring fell a light fire-colored dust that our bodies sucked in, and I could feel myself heal.

『Your muscles, anyways, will take a little longer as your soul itself heals. Would you let me speak now? You’re fine, I’m not your enemy. So, please, let me speak? In order to help Kaito, you’ll help us with something, right?』

「But, but, we have to hurry! If we don’t, Kaito might already be killed!. No, maybe already…ahhhhh, no no no, I don’t want him to die!」

Shuria covered her ears as she shouted.

『I mean, you two aren’t dead, so he’s not dead, you see?』

「What do you know about that? I have no connection to him anymore! …to live in a world without master…I can’t…」

As she angrily flared up at the girl and then seemed to be lost, the girl seemed to laugh, enjoying it all.

『Hah hah hah, you idiot! We’re not just going to let you die! You are in a different world, we want to save you but your connection with him has not disappeared. If you feel deep within your heart, you will feel him.』

「Within us?」「Inside of us?」

As she said that, we tried peering inside ourselves.

All we saw was an opening darkness, deepening shadows, a gaping hole.

The dark red flame inside of us had disappeared, almost like a hand had entered and extinguished it.

「Nothing…nothing…」「It’s empty, dark, cold, nothing…」

Black, jet black.

Just alone.

The same as when I was in a single cell in the city about to be sold by the slave trader.

…the same? Even though I couldn’t find that flame of revenge, the same?

『Has the connection disappeared? Don’t be stupid. Since you’re under the power of the 『holy zone』the connection’s just disappeared.』

La-dum, a small, but a certain throb resounded.

I had searched and searched but couldn’t find it.

I couldn’t find it, but I could feel the warmth.

「Aaah! Ahhh! It’s there!」「It’s there! Weak, small, and I can’t find it, but it’s there! Honestly…」

『Just as Towako said, you have a connection inside of you. And that connection was only created by his power, right?』

「No!」「Not at all!」

『If so, then think. What can you do to save Kaito?』

「W, well, if we don’t hurry, that woman will hurt the master…」

『It’ll be okay. Since he passed to the other world, whatever is in this world will not be able to help him.』

「The other…world?」

『You need to become stronger. When he returns, you need to not burden him. In order to avoid thinking about trifling with Kaito-sama.』

「What are you TALKING about?」

『First, know this. The flip side of this world. Who the queen, holy woman, demon lord, hero is. Why, and what roles they each play.』

The pink woman said while swishing her hair behind her, closing her eyes with a bit of bitterness on her lips.

『Also, let’s go kill the god. In order to stop this situation. …yes, kill. There’s no way that Kaito-sama can kill me, none, none whatsoever. That piece of trash woman, should drown in a tank of goblin shit.』

However, her eyes opened again, and hearing her say that with those hollow eyes of hers made them look full of anger.

Words that continued with cursed intent, almost as if a switch was turned on.

『Yes, that’s why I said to explain this. It’s not over, her soul is unstable and the result is all of this. So now please listen to my explanation.』

Now the green girl came forward with a look of expectation.

『Hm, first we need to wake these girls up. Since this is finished, you can be sure that the hero still exists, okay?』

「Ah, Leone…」

As I said that, the green girl’s finger pointed to a woman, Leone, who was unconscious.