â Reversed Sea (1) â
Her mind felt foggy.
She had been feeling this way since a while ago, but now, it had become much worse.
ââŠâ
Riru looked at her own trembling hands.
She felt the desire to kill that fucking bitch and grind her to dust as soon as possible.
The overwhelming power boiling inside her convinced her that she was strong enough to do that.
ââŠNo.â
Then, she realized that the bitch wasnât the only problem.
All the annoying and infuriating things that had happened recently came to her mind, one after another.
And she wished nothing but to crush them all with this strength she possessed.
ââŠâ
Faintly, she was aware that there was something wrong with her, but even that feeling was overwhelmed by a torrent of emotions that shook her entire consciousness.
Irrational anger. An unreasonable urge to destroy.
-Hello, Riru.
And then, in such a state, a familiar voice echoed in her ears.
Familiar was truly the only real way to describe it. After all, it was âher ownâ voice.
ââŠâ
Riru stared blankly in the direction of that voice, with unfocused eyes,
âWho is this?â
âWhy is she taking on my form?â
-This method of conversation⊠How should I put it? Among the Vessels who possess one Fragment, you are the only one who can converse like this. In the othersâ case, even if they want to, the gap in their âstatusâ is too wide, they simply canât do it. I guess there is a benefit of being a weakling, after all.
ââŠFragments? Vessels?â
She couldnât understand anything.
As these thoughts floated vaguely in her mind, the other party continued speaking.
-If it was up to me, I actually want to help you, but⊠I already made a contract, so I canât. We all are bound by contracts, after all.
The voice continued as it kept on spouting incomprehensible words while giggling.
ââŠYou. Who are you?â
-I am your feminine side. Itâs been a while since weâve talked, hasnât it?
ââŠâ
-Just kidding. Hihi.
The voice, which laughed lazily, soon spoke again.
This time, its tone was far more serious than before.
-Youâll find out soon enough, but⊠I really canât tell you now. Those Heretic Inquisition bastards are nearby, I can smell them. Itâll be better for both of us to not unnecessarily get involved with them, you know?
ââŠIf youâre only here to spout nonsense, then you should get lost you fucking ghost⊠Or whatever you areâŠâ
-Oh my. If you could respond like that, it means quite a bit of your consciousness has returned.
The unidentifiable âsomethingâ that took her form now touched Riruâs forehead.
ThenâŠ
Suddenly, her consciousness became clear.
The wrath clouding her mind dissipated in an instant.
-Well, I can tell you this much, at leastâŠ
As Riru stood there, dumbfounded, the other party spoke again.
-Iâll see you in a few days, Riru.
ââŠWhat?â
-By then, thereâs something fun we can do âtogetherâ. Understand what I mean?
Though she couldnât understand a single word the being utteredâŠ
She felt drawn in.
Riru didnât know why she felt that way, but the sensation that she felt was clear.
At the same time, the blue aura emanating from her body disappeared all at once.
âHuh? Woah!â
As soon as the blue aura vanished, she lost the ability to stand on the sea and plunged into the water.
Fortunately for her, she was able to swim, so she was able to easily float to the surface. ButâŠ
âWhat the. What am I doingââ
Before she could finish her words.
She saw Dowd Campbell clinging tightly to her body.
ââŠâ
ââŠâ
âWhat the hell is this?â
âSince when had he been there?â
His eyes were closed, it seemed like he was unconscious.
Looking around, she saw pieces of flesh and blood scattered everywhere.
ââŠâ
âHow did I get in this situation?â
As she tried to follow up such thoughtsâŠ
Dowd, who had been lying motionless, moved and hugged her tightly.
ââŠ!â
Startled, she turned to look at him.
âIf you regained consciousness, then, get offâ!â
In response, she immediately spoke in an irate voice. The blue aura that had disappeared earlier started to seep from her body once again.
She refused to be played like a fiddle by this man ever again. Though she didnât know what he would say, if she heard him making another weird excuse, she might actuallyâ
âIâm sorry.â
But, the low tone that came out of his mouth made her freeze.
She immediately realized that he was different from usual.
Normally, he never showed his true feelings. Anyone with a sense of awareness would know that he always had ulterior motives hidden away deep inside.
However, right nowâŠ
He desperately tried to convey his sincerity to her,
So, Riru gave up on retorting, awkwardly wiped her nose and responded to him, as she had no other choice but to do that,
ââŠWhatâs with you all of a sudden?â
âIâm sorry.â
ââŠâ
The apology came out of nowhere, butâŠ
It dug into her heart deeply.
ââŠâ
Although Riru was someone who had always preferred a direct manner of speech, strangely, the first thought that came to her mind was, âDo you even know why Iâm angry?â.
Even though she spent countless times thinking she couldnât understand women who talked like that while in a relationshipâŠ
Just because of a desire for this man to âtake care of herâ a bit more, she became one of those very women.
âIâm sorry.â
HoweverâŠ
Before she could utter such words, another sincere apology came her way.
âI never imagined I would be so important to you.â
Again, something dug into her heart.
Her face turned even redder than before.
Normally, sheâd send a retort, saying that she hated a bastard like him, but the conviction in his voice made her tongue freeze.
It was as if he had âseenâ something and âcame backâ from somewhere, carrying a new resolve from such information.
And even Riru herselfâŠ
If asked to deny it now, she wasnât sure she could strongly refute it either.
âI apologize.â
ââŠâ
In a sense, he was just playing innocent again.
She had already been played like a fiddle quite a few times by this man. Sure, there were things that made her feel thankful for him, but there were more things she wanted to confront him for.
That was whyâŠ
She had to get angry at him.
ButâŠ
âIâm sorry for ignoring those feelings. Iâm sorry for using you like this. Iâm really, really sorry for making you go through such a hard time.â
Watching him hug her and apologize about all the guilt and wrongdoings he had committed, as if he was confessing his sinâŠ
She just couldnât do it.
âIâm sorry.â
ââŠâ
Her heart felt itchy.
She hadnât realized how embarrassing it would be for this man to confide in her so sincerely.
ââŠYou know.â
After a long silence, she finally murmured.
âAre we really just going to be friends?â
Looking back, maybe that was why she got so mad at him.
Over that one sentence.
ââŠâ
It really was strange.
She couldnât quite understand her own feelings.
âIf thatâs what you want.â
ââŠâ
Of course she didnât want that.
Rather, she wanted something a bit more.
A bit closerâŠ
ââŠForget it. Just shut up.â
However, she didnât have the courage to say such things at the moment.
ButâŠ
âHug me tighter.â
She could at least ask for that much.
ââŠExcuse me?â
âI said if youâre sorry, hug me tighter.â
ââŠâ
Dowd, looking perplexed, tightened his arms around her.
His body pressed even more closely against her.
ââŠMore.â
ââŠâ
ââŠJust a little more.â
Riru closed her eyes and buried her forehead in Dowdâs chest, wrapping her arms around his back.
In that stateâŠ
She could feel this man.
She could hear his heartbeat, his breathâŠ
ââŠâ
Her entire body relaxed.
She didnât know how to describe the feeling.
But, it felt incredibly reassuring.
âThanks.â
Riru stuttered the word out.
ââŠI saw something really shitty. So I needed some reassurance.â
ââŠâ
At Riruâs words, Dowdâs gaze shifted slightly.
Alanâs body was floating on the sea. And the âbodyâ of the Garda clan was attached to it.
Riruâs body trembled slightly.
As if she was scared, having seen something she never wanted to see.
ââŠâ
Dowd closed his eyes for a moment and let out a sigh.
âRiru.â
âYeah.â
âThe bastards who did that will pay.â
ââŠâ
âI will make that happen.â
And Dowdâs eyes while speaking as suchâŠ
âAnd I, from this moment onwardsâŠâ
Were fixed on the giant sinkhole being recreated in the nearby sea.
Phase two. The true form of the Reversed Sea.
The âGod Kingsâ worshiped by Tatiana. The most powerful beings that woman could summon.
âWill prove that I have the âabilityâ to face that bastard.â
With those wordsâŠ
A âmarine creatureâ, so gigantic it seemed it would tear apart heaven and earth, finally revealed its enormous form from beneath the sea.
âElkiaaaaAAAK-!â
ââŠâ
Sitting on the cliff, Kasa, with narrowed eyes, tapped her pipe on the ground.
Yes. While she did expect someone to arrive around this timeâŠ
She didnât realize they would appear with such a fuss.
The old woman turned to look at the person who emerged from behind her, still with her eyes narrowed.
ââŠI see that this child has unbelievable talent.â
Kasa thought so as she watched the orange-haired girl with tearful eyes charged towards her.
Behind her, she was followed by a stumpy girl leaking white aura behind her like a ghost.
âI keep telling you the one who caused trouble is Teach, but why are you doing this to me-!â
âHowever, Miss Iliya. You definitely seem to know where Mr. Dowd is. You seem to be hiding it from me. Maybe if I torment you a bit, youâll tell me.â
âI donât know anything, even if you interrogate me in that weird toneâ!â
ââŠâ
âKYAAAAAAK-!â
After Iliya narrowly dodged a white slash flying at her with terrifying speed, Yuria kicked off the ground and leaped to the space beside her.
It was a movement that was close to teleportation, butâŠ
Iliya âreactedâ to that speed too.
She twisted her entire body to avoid the slash and used the centrifugal force to knock away the black-haired girl who was charging at her with a scabbard.
âOoooh.â
While spectating, Kasa involuntarily let out a sigh of admiration at her efficient movements.
Her instantaneous adaptability and sense were already way beyond a studentâs level.
Just seeing how the black-haired girl, who charged so fiercely, was effortlessly thrown off more than proved this fact.
The distance she was being thrown was considerable;The girl flew over Kasaâs position and even over the coastal cliff.
ââŠâ
She probably wouldnât die.
That girl didnât seem like an ordinary girl, so she should be fine even after falling off that cliff.
In the first place, when considering what that guy Dowd said, her flying off the cliff was probably the⊠What was it againâŠ
âPlanâ. Right.
Rather than the one who fell off the cliff, the girl in front of her seemed far closer to dying.
âHuff! Heuak! AhaaaahkâŠ! TeachâŠI wonâtâŠlistenâŠto youâŠever agaâŠahhhhâŠâ
ââŠâ
âB-By the way, who are you?â
ââŠHave you caught your breath?â
Kasa chuckled at Iliya, who spoke as if she was a foot away from death.
âYou can say that Iâm the master of the person you call âTeach.ââ
ââŠâ
Iliya looked at Kasa with an unpleasant gaze.
Was that really something she would show such a reaction to? Kasa thought as such, cocking her head.
ââŠCan that person even cover such an age difference? Exactly how broad is his striking rangeâŠâ
ââŠStop talking nonsense. Come and sit next to me.â
Kasa grabbed her aching head with her remaining arm.
âYouâre the Hero Candidate, arenât you? Then you canât miss whatâs about to happen.â
Iliyaâs eyes widened.
âDo you know me?â
âSomewhat.â
Kasa put the pipe back in her mouth.
Tobacco was always her good companion.
And if there was such an interesting spectacle, it was even more so.
Her gaze rested on the coast, where a gigantic monster was emerging from beneath the sea.
It was near where Dowd and Riru were located.
Not just one, but three in total.
It seemed like an impossible battle.
ââŠAncient Gods from another dimension are monsters that require the power of an entire nation to even consider fighting.â
He was definitely covered in all kinds of wondrous abilities, butâŠ
No single human could face them.
HoweverâŠ
Her gaze wasnât on the ancient monsters emerging from the sea. No, insteadâŠ
âWatch carefully, Future Hero. This will surely help you reach that realm.â
Her focus remainedâŠ
âFrom now on, you shall witness a human fighting and defeating the impossible.â
On a single man, who was charging alone towards such an insurmountable foe.
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