kscans

Chapter 62 - Little One and the Kodoku Curse, Part Six

A sound. A light, bell-like sound.

In his clouded consciousness, Chihaya lay in the darkness with an ecstatic expression. The warm, slick substance slowly enveloped him, pulling him down.

He was unaware of someone watching him.

That someone grinned, smiling at the sinking Chihaya.

"Nii-ni? Nii-ni!!"

After that, the Frontier party returned to Bastok and quickly called a doctor to examine Chihaya.

Chihaya, who had been in agony, was now lying as if asleep. But he didn't react to Little One's cries. His skin was pale, his breathing shallow, his chest barely rising and falling. His form was like that of a corpse, and the onlookers' eyes froze.

And Chihiro recognized this state.

Her grandfather, on his deathbed from old age, had passed away from a similar condition.

A horrifying thought made Little One’s entire body break out in goosebumps.

"This is already... Are there any family members present?"

The doctor, finished with his examination, shook his head with a tired gesture.

"Me! I’m his sister!"

The doctor looked pitifully at the little girl who had shot her hand up, and then looked around. Many people were watching, but it seemed there were no other family members among them.

"Please call his parents. It might not be in time, but..."

But before he could finish, Zac grabbed the doctor by the collar. Zac was tall for his age. Grabbed by the nearly 190-centimeter tall man, the doctor’s feet dangled, his toes barely touching the ground.

"Don't you dare mess with me!! If anything happens to Haya?! I won't let you..."

Adonis hastily stopped Zac, who was yelling with his eyes bulging in fury. Changing his expression, he put Zac in a full nelson from behind.

"Wait, wait! It's not his fault, is it?!"

The expression on Zac's face suddenly vanished, and the hand that had been gripping the doctor went limp, releasing its hold. The doctor, who had been on the verge of being suspended in mid-air, fell to the floor with a thud, coughing violently, geho geho.

"Sorry..."

Adonis patted the shoulder of the weakly muttering Zac and gave a bitter smile. His face was also pained, reflecting his own feelings. He likely felt the same as Zac.

"No, thanks to you moving first, I was able to calm down. Thanks."

"Ad..."

Zac grimaced and muttered softly, then staggered out of the room.

Watching him go, Little One thought. He's completely unresponsive to external stimuli. This is a comatose state. Chihaya was now in an extremely dangerous situation. Yes, one falls into a coma. It isn’t something you get or catch, you fall into it. A state where all human senses are gone, all contact is severed. A living corpse. If it continued for long, it would be life-threatening. In Arcadia, without ventilators and the like, death would come even faster.

What should I do?

As Little One agonized, something on her forehead shone. As if in response, the cuff on Chihaya's ear also began to glow.

Emitting a brilliant light were their respective quartz crystals.

But their colors were different.

While Little One's was a sun-like gold, the light from Chihaya's was a purplish jet black.

Darkness is shining??

The shining darkness enveloped Chihaya, and his closed eyes snapped open.

"Nii-ni?!"

Chihaya sat up with a start and stared at his own hands in a daze. Then, like a beast, he curled his lips into a cruel sneer.

"Wonderful..."

As Chihaya murmured ecstatically, Little One felt a sense of wrongness and slowly backed away. Then, something flickered in the corner of her mind.

Hadn't something similar happened before, somewhere?

The elusive, faint memory dissipated like mist before she could grasp it.

"...Chihiro?"

A low voice that sent a shiver down her spine. The word that spun from Chihaya's lips was unmistakably her brother's, yet it reached her ears dyed in a completely different color. A lifeless, inorganic voice.

"Sister... are you? An all-attribute user. You are wonderful as well."

Those around them also noticed the change in Chihaya, and an uneasy atmosphere stirred.

"With this...?! Ugh?!"

With a small cry, Chihaya clutched his head and crouched down.

"Why...?! Ugh!"

Chihaya's face, writhing in agony, was contorted in pain, and beads of sweat appeared on his brow.

"You! Still...?!"

Chihaya, convulsing violently, suddenly collapsed as if a string had been cut. As people watched with bated breath, Chihaya once again became completely still.

"What was that...?"

At Romel’s question, his face a mask of astonishment, the doctor shook his head vehemently.

"Impossible! The light in his eyes was definitely gone!"

The light being gone from his eyes meant his pupils were dilated. It was a term normally used for the dead, but the degree of dilation varied from person to person. If they weren't fully dilated, there was still a chance he was alive.

"Nii-ni..."

What in the world was happening? The answer lay within Chihaya.

《You! You were still alive?! Sink already!!》

『I won’t let you touch Hiro!! You’re the one who should get out of my body!!』

Two souls in conflict.

Little One would have recognized this state.

It was possession.

Someone was lurking in Chihaya's body. That someone sneered. A mocking, alluringly wicked smile.

《Won’t let me touch her? You’re the one who wants to, aren’t you?》

『What?!』

《Come on. You harbor wicked thoughts for your sister. I was born from that, and now you tell me to get out? Are you kidding me?》

『Shut uuuuuup!!』

《Hya-ha, don’t take it out on me just because I hit a nerve. It’s not like I want to be here. You’re the one who called me!!》

In the slick, muddy darkness, the two of them grappled. Chihaya slipped, and someone swept his leg out from under him. The someone straddled Chihaya, who had fallen flat on his back, grabbed him by the collar, and glared into his face. Their noses were almost touching, yet he couldn't see the person's expression. Only their brilliantly shining eyes existed, not melting into the darkness.

《You wanted to have your sister. I wanted to have a body. Our interests aligned.》

Chihaya's eyes, wide open to their limit, froze.

《I'll gladly lay a hand on your sister for you. You can have her indirectly through me. Isn't that wonderful?》

A wicked smile played on the someone's lips, and their thoughts flowed into Chihaya. What a sweet temptation. But a rage that repelled it welled up from the pit of Chihaya's stomach with surprising force.

『Like I’d let youuuuu!!』

A roar from Chihaya, his whole body trembling. At the same time, a dazzling golden light enveloped his body.

《Wha, this is the gods’...?!》

Ignoring the astonished someone, the golden magic dispelled the darkness, erasing it.

《The gods are supposed to be non-interfering with the world! Why? How?!》

Leaving only a faint trace, the darkness vanished. In Chihaya's eyes, who had collapsed, exhausted, was the image of his tearful sister.

"...Hiro?"

"!! Nii-nii!! Waaahhh!"

The crystal on Chihiro’s circlet had absorbed the darkness and made it disappear. Conversely, the golden magic was being absorbed into Chihaya’s cuff and vanishing.

"What was I...?"

"You collapsed in the cave. Do you remember?"

Romel met Chihaya's gaze. His lips trembled slightly, and he clutched his still-pounding chest and looked down.

《You’re the one who called me.》

No.

"Nii-ni?"

Hugging the worried Little One, Chihaya denied the mysterious someone's voice.

No, no, no!

She's my beloved sister. I don't harbor any stained, wicked feelings for her!!

As if telling himself, he repeated it over and over in his mind. Chihiro watched the trembling Chihaya with a curious expression.

They were overjoyed that Chihaya had woken up, and that day, an elaborate feast was laid out in the dining hall.

Watching the happily eating Little One with affectionate eyes, Chihaya became convinced that the ‘someone’ was a dangerous opponent for his sister.

He said he would lay a hand on Hiro. That he would take over my body.

I won't let him! I will protect Hiro!!

But he couldn't consult with anyone. The someone who tried to take over Chihaya was undoubtedly a dangerous person for his sister. If it became known that he was harboring such a person within him...? No one would let Chihaya accompany Chihiro. Not even their parents. Chihaya himself would be made into a dangerous person for his sister.

His eyes narrowed resentfully, and while the people around him rejoiced, Chihaya agonized alone.