5 - Something That Is Him, Yet Not Him
"It's a Magic Beast! Kara-chan! Go call Rui right now!"
"Eh, ah, yes!"
Ray asked Kara to go call Rui. Ray remembered Kamiira saying that Rui could walk outside to some extent. That meant he had the power to fight Magic Beasts.
"Kai-chan! Hurry, over here! Kai-chan!"
Kai finally reacted to Ray's desperate scream. Turning toward Ray, he started running straight for him. However, that was not necessarily the right choice. Because Kai turned his back, the Magic Beast had also started to move.
"Damn it."
Ray noticed the mistake. There were three Magic Beasts chasing Kai as he fled toward him. It seemed the ones that had been hiding had also come out. The Magic Beasts were clearly faster.
"Damn it! What do I do!"
He didn't know if Rui would make it in time. If not, what would happen to Kai? The thought made Ray panic.
"Move. Move!"
His body was weakened by malnutrition, and more than that, he was frozen by the terror of seeing a Magic Beast for the first time. He forced himself to take a step. Once that first step moved, Ray's body was suddenly liberated. He gathered the magic power within his body into his legs. This lightened the weight of his body. He was able to start running toward the fleeing Kai. As his body moved, his mind began to move as well. He flung a pebble he had been holding at the Magic Beast. Far from defeating it, the stone didn't even hit, but it seemed to have succeeded in slowing the Magic Beast's legs as it tried to dodge the pebble. Ray running toward Kai, and the Magic Beasts chasing Kai. It was a matter of whether he would make it just in time. Kai's face, looking as if he were about to cry, reflected in Ray's eyes as he ran toward him. Just a little more. Just as he thought that, Kai tripped. The Magic Beast closing in right behind him bared its pointed fangs, about to pounce on Kai.
"Ray! Ray! Help me!"
Kai screamed and desperately reached out his hand toward Ray. The moment he saw that sight, Ray's mind went blank.
"Uwaaa, uwaaaaa!"
A roar escaped him unconsciously. Then, the magic power within his body heated up all at once, as if exploding. Ray concentrated that magic power into his fist and slammed it with all his might into the wide-open mouth of the Magic Beast trying to attack Kai. A sickening sensation, like crushing flesh. A few moments later, the world before Ray's eyes was dyed bright red.
"Guaaaaa!"
Still clutching Ray's arm, the Magic Beast collapsed on the spot. Ray fell with it, as if being pulled in. He tried to pull his arm out and stand up, but a sense of exhaustion, as if something had been ripped out of his body, left him unable to move.
"R-run."
Two Magic Beasts still remained. He squeezed the words out, urging Kai to run.
"Hurry!"
"N-nn, yeah."
Though slightly bewildered, Kai stood up and ran toward the cave. Once he confirmed that, Ray turned his gaze toward the remaining Magic Beasts.
"Grrrrrrr."
Perhaps wary because their comrade had been defeated, the two monsters did not attack immediately, but instead prowled around in front of Ray, growling and probing. Then, Ray's gaze was immediately drawn not to those two, but to the Magic Beast lying defeated beside him. The Magic Beast was writhing, blood spurting from its mouth. The sensation of flesh at the tip of his arm. What dominated Ray's mind was not fear or disgust, but an intense feeling of hunger.
(Blood, flesh, power... I want it.)
An instinctive desire pleading from the depths of his heart.
(Devour the power. If you don't want to die.)
Something that was his voice, yet not his voice. It appealed to Ray's heart.
"Ugaaaaaaaaa!"
Suddenly, pain shot through his arm. Like dry sand absorbing water, he felt his arm, which was inside the Magic Beast's mouth, sucking something up with tremendous force. The filling power spread from his arm throughout his entire body. Along with it, madness assaulted Ray's heart.
(Kill, kill, kill!)
An intense desire for slaughter painted over the small amount of reason Ray had left. Then, Ray's ego, dominated by something dark and murky, sank into a deep darkness.
"Gu... gru."
The Magic Beasts, sensing Ray's transformation through their animal instincts, showed signs of flinching slightly. However, such figures were not reflected in Ray's eyes. Before him were simply targets to be killed. He stood up slowly and walked straight toward the two Magic Beasts.
"Kill, kill, kill... guaaaaaa!"
Letting out a beast-like scream, Ray pounced on the Magic Beasts. This was not Ray's usual movement. With swift movements like a beast itself, he slammed his fist into a Magic Beast's head.
"Grua!"
The Magic Beast was blown away by Ray's fist. But Ray's attack did not end there. He pinned the tumbling Magic Beast down and relentlessly hammered his fists into its head. He did so regardless of the other Magic Beast biting into his shoulder. Seeming to feel no pain at all, Ray continued to beat the Magic Beast he had pinned beneath him.
"Are you okay!? Wait, hey!?"
The one who appeared there was Rui. Rui flinched for a moment at the abnormal sight, but quickly recovered and delivered a kick to the Magic Beast biting Ray.
"Get off! You damn Magic Beast!"
Judging that one hit wouldn't be enough, Rui continued to kick. A lethal kick infused with magic power crushed the Magic Beast's head.
"Alright! Hey, you're okay now."
Rui called out to Ray, but Ray did not respond to that voice.
"Hey?"
"Guaaaaa!"
What came back to the second call was a beast's roar.
"You!?"
"Kill, kill, kill."
"What?"
Seeing Ray slowly turn around, Rui's eyes widened in shock. Both of Ray's arms were dyed pitch black, and his eyes were not those of a sane person. Drooling from his mouth and baring his teeth, he was a Magic Beast itself. While Rui was frozen in surprise, Ray lunged at him as if performing a tackle. Rui collapsed helplessly. He tried desperately to push Ray away, but he was pinned by the throat with a strength unimaginable for the usual Ray.
"Guh."
Along with that, a sensation as if something were being sucked out hit Rui's body. Strength drained from his entire body. What Rui saw was Ray's other fist slowly being raised.
"Ah."
His strength was gone, and he couldn't move. Was he going to be punched just like the Magic Beast from before? Thinking this, Rui instinctively closed his eyes, but Ray's fist never fell. When he timidly opened his eyes, there was Ray, groaning in pain.
"Hey!? What happened!?"
"S-stop... me."
"What!?"
"S-stop... me. I... I'm begging... you."
"What are you talking about!? Then get off me!"
"H-hurry, hurry... I'm telling you to kill me!"
"I can't kill you, so for now, just pass out."
"Eh, gah!"
A kick slammed into the back of Ray's head. It was a kick from Kamiira, who had returned to the cave before they knew it.
◇◇◇
"Sigh, Ray-kun certainly doesn't let me get bored."
Kamiira sighed, holding her head in her hands at the table. The unconscious Ray had been carried into the room. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, there were chains in Ray's room for restraining him. Kamiira had securely chained Ray's hands and feet and returned to the dining room.
"What happened to him?"
Rui, sitting opposite her, asked worriedly. Beside her were Kai and Kara, who also had worried expressions.
"I don't know. Though I can imagine a bit."
"Like what?"
"He was contaminated by a Magic Beast's magic power. That's the most likely possibility."
"He becomes like that?"
"I've never actually seen it myself, so it's purely speculation. But he felt like a Magic Beast itself. A being of only instinct, with no visible emotions. But I wonder why he was contaminated?"
Even if she could imagine the possibility of contamination by a Magic Beast, Kamiira had no idea why it had happened.
"He was covered in blood, so maybe he drank some?"
"That's a possibility. But would drinking a little blood make him like that?"
"Maybe it wasn't just a little?"
"True. We don't know how much someone other than a member of the Demon Race can withstand the influence of a Magic Beast's madness. What's a tiny amount for us might not be for Ray-kun."
Ray was different from them. Therefore, no matter how much she thought of reasons, it was only imagination. In the first place, the reason Ray became like that lay far beyond common sense. Kamiira did not yet understand that.
"...Both his arms were pitch black."
"Yes. That's also mysterious. I felt like his whole body was somewhat darkened. But not as much as his arms."
"He was beating the hell out of the Magic Beast. Maybe that's why?"
"Contaminated just by punching? That's impossible."
"Then why?"
"That's what I don't understand. Hey, can you tell me in detail one more time?"
To pinpoint the cause of Ray's contamination by madness, Kamiira asked for an explanation of what happened once more.
"I only saw the middle part. Kai, explain it to Mother from the beginning."
"Mm. Um, Ray saved me when I fell."
"I see. That was good."
"Yeah!"
Kai replied happily. He was worried about Ray, but the joy of being saved did not disappear.
"And how did he save you?"
"He punched it. He put his hand in the Magic Beast's mouth. Ah, it was glowing a little."
"...I see. Did he use magic power? To be able to do that instinctively... was there anything else?"
"He told me to run. And when I ran, he was screaming like he was hurting."
"He was screaming?"
"Yeah. I was surprised and looked back, and Ray with pitch-black hands was standing there."
"So he was already black at that point?"
Ray's arms had been dyed black at the start of the fight. She understood that.
"Yeah. But only one side."
"Eh? Not both arms?"
"One side."
"...I see, and after that?"
"He went toward the other Magic Beast. He punched it and the Magic Beast flew away, and Ray followed after it. He was fast and strong, but he was scary."
"I see. He was strong. And he was scary. He was already possessed at that point. And then?"
"Rui came."
"Yes, Rui?"
Kai's explanation ended there. Kamiira asked Rui for the rest of the explanation.
"He was beating one to a pulp, even though he was being bitten by a Magic Beast. I kicked the one biting Ray away, but then Ray attacked me."
"He pinned you down. And then I appeared. Ray-kun pinned Rui down, right? Was he really that strong?"
Even though Rui was still a child, he was a member of the Demon Race. His physical abilities were not something a member of the Human Race of the same age could match. Moreover, Ray had been completely weakened. The fact that he could even fight a Magic Beast was surprising, but Kamiira couldn't understand the reason why he could pin down Rui, who should have been stronger.
"Yeah, his strength was amazing. But it wasn't just that, when Ray grabbed my neck, I felt my strength just drain away."
"What do you mean, your strength drained away?"
"It felt like my magic power was being sucked out."
"Really!?"
A look of shock appeared on Kamiira's face at Rui's words.
"I think it's certain. It was an intense version of the sensation when using magic."
"Could it be that Ray-kun used Magic Drain!?"
"What's Drain?"
"It's magic. But it's not magic that humans can use. Even among the Demon Race, only a limited number can use it. I only know of one person."
"Is it such an amazing magic?"
"If you ask if it's amazing... it's debatable. It depends on the user."
"What do you mean?"
"The amount of magic power that can be absorbed differs depending on the user's own amount of magic power. If the original amount of magic power is high, they can suck out a large amount, but if not, it's a tiny amount. If the target's magic power is high, it's just a nuisance."
For members of the Demon Race who harbor abundant magic power in their bodies, Magic Drain doesn't have much meaning. If there's a significant difference in power, it's possible to cause them to run out of magic, but if there's that much of a difference, it's faster to settle it with other means.
"I see. But it didn't feel like a tiny amount. Actually, my body still feels sluggish."
"I see. It really is a bit different. In the first place, the Drain I know is strictly magic. It's not something you do by sucking with your hand. But I understand a little now. Ray-kun was possessed by madness because he took in a Magic Beast's magic power through some method."
"Mine too."
"Yes. It's not limited to Magic Beasts. That makes it troublesome again. It would be unbearable if magic power were taken just by touching. Well, there's no point in thinking about that now."
"In the end, I guess we won't know unless we ask him. Will he go back to normal?"
"He looked like he was suffering when I knocked him out, but he was normal. That's the hope. He might be back to normal when he wakes up."
Just before losing consciousness, Ray had the reason to stop his attack on Rui. Kamiira was optimistic about him returning to normal.
"Normal... wait, was he normal?"
"What do you mean?"
But Rui voiced an objection to that.
"I feel like that wasn't the usual him either."
"Not the usual Ray-kun? Why did you think that?"
"The atmosphere? His way of speaking seemed a bit different too. But I'm not very confident."
"I see... that's also something we won't know unless we ask Ray-kun."
"I guess."
◇◇◇
Ray was chained to the wall of the room. He remained limp, hanging from the chains, showing no sign of being awake. In reality, Ray was still unconscious. On the surface.
Inside his heart.
(Well, look at that, another one's joined us.)
(Don't complain to me. I didn't make this one. It just came in on its own.)
Ray was having a conversation with Ray. A short distance away—not physically, but mentally—was the heart of the Magic Beast's madness that he had absorbed. That spirit, which continued to rage even now, was barely separated from Ray's original ego.
(It's pretty much the same, isn't it? Your actions created that thing.)
(It couldn't be helped in that case. Are you telling me I should have abandoned Kai-chan?)
(I ain't sayin' that. I think Kai's cute too.)
(See. My actions weren't wrong.)
(True enough. But what are you plannin' to do with that thing?)
(I can't just leave it. If that thing gets out, it'll be another disaster.)
The Magic Beast's madness. It was quiet for now, but only because they were keeping their distance. It couldn't stay that way forever.
(Meaning?)
(You know without askin'. 'Cause you are me.)
(Why not? I can enjoy a little conversation. I haven't had a turn in a while. I'm bored too, ya know.)
(Liar, liar. Even if you're not on the surface, you feel the same things, don't you?)
(That's why I'm tellin' you to enjoy the conversation. It's because of that personality that we ended up like this.)
(Shut up. Anyway, I'll absorb that thing somehow.)
(Can ya? You got completely wiped out once. Thanks to that, I had to jump out.)
(It'll be a problem if I can't. I don't necessarily need to absorb it completely. If I can erase it, I'll just erase it. That thing isn't me.)
The Magic Beast's madness was a foreign object that had entered Ray's spirit. If it was a harmful foreign object, it should be erased.
(How?)
(Stop askin' yourself. You've got a weapon, right?)
(Rui's magic power. But when did we become able to do something like this?)
(You know that too, right? We were starvin', so we just jumped at the food in front of us. If you ask if we can do it again, I ain't confident.)
Ray's action had not been conscious. What had barely supported the starving Ray was the magic power within his body. By frantically slamming that magic power into the Magic Beast, even the magic power that had been his support was depleted. Ray's empty heart and body, driven only by survival instinct, reached for the nearest nutrition, the Magic Beast's magic power.
(I feel like I can do it. Watchin' from the side, I kinda got the feel for it. If you share the info with the one who actually did it, it might work. Ah, but maybe it won't work if you ain't hungry?)
(I don't know. Anyway, that's for later. Now, I'll do something about that thing.)
(But you say Rui's magic power is the weapon, so how are ya gonna weaken it?)
(This is inside my heart. I'm the one who can create people. Makin' a thing is easy.)
The moment he said that, a silver-shining sword appeared in Ray's hand. A sword made of the dense, refined magic power of Rui, a member of the Demon Race.
(Ooh, cool. But you can't even use a sword, can ya?)
(In reality, no. But inside the heart, I can manage with just an image. I'm confident my imagination is superior to a human's.)
(I know that well. In your case, you could call it a fantasy. So, am I really just watchin'?)
(Yeah, you're the backup for when things get dire.)
(I could do it too, ya know?)
(That would be the same as now. Just locking it up. That thing must either be completely erased or absorbed by me. If you absorb it, the distance between your personality and mine will grow again, right?)
(If that's how you feel, just merge me with the others already.)
(...Sorry. I'm still not confident.)
Ray still needed the other self within his heart. He didn't have the confidence to be completely alone.
(I think it'd be fine in this world, though?)
(With Kamiira-san and the others. I don't know about others. I might meet people like that in the future.)
(The distrust of humans never goes away, huh.)
(Not that easily. That's why I need you.)
(Look at you talk. Even though you completely forgot about me.)
(That couldn't be helped, right? It was force majeure.)
Ray had even forgotten the existence of the other self within his own heart. In his life with Kamiira and the others, there had been no need to remember.
(Sigh, alright. I'll put up with it for a while.)
(Also, I'm counting on you to be on the surface for a bit.)
(I'm the one goin' to the surface?)
(If I stay unconscious the whole time, it'll make Kamiira-san worry, right?)
(She'll end up hatin' me. With a personality like mine.)
(She won't hate you. Kamiira-san isn't that kind of person.)
(You're head over heels, ain't ya.)
(Yeah, completely.)
(...That's embarrassing. You are me. Don't go makin' embarrassing confessions on your own.)
(Shut up. Now, here I go!)
Gripping the sword tightly, Ray walked toward the existence ahead. A mass like a murky black mist. That, too, was an image created within Ray. The other Ray watched him go.
(The real me just doesn't get it. Your heart won't break with just a little bit of pain anymore. All you need is the confidence that you'll be okay. That's all it takes.)
Even though they were the same Ray, that murmur did not reach the other. The one who murmured was the other Ray who had been separated. Because he was the Ray created to protect Ray from mental pain.