Chapter 43 - Volume 2 (2/2)

That thing, floating in the air, looked like a baby. But after blinking I realized that it wasn’t a cute existence at all.

Dark red skin. A head too big for its tiny body. Large eyeballs with no white, completely black and glaring towards us. From the pointed ears to the jagged mouth, and sharp fangs. Its hands and legs were skinny, and it’s stomach protruded out. It flapped the wings sprouting out of its back, tattered and thin like those of a bat. Its appearance hit me as if I were dashed with a bucket of cold water.

I belatedly noticed that I was shivering. I wonder why. Again. Again I could hear a crying voice. Like the waves, drawing near and then pulling away, the voice became quieter, and then louder, and then quieter. It echoed inside my body. I felt as if that crying voice would carry me away.

「Filmina.」

At that quiet voice whispered into my ear, I swallowed. Filmina. That is mine. Nothing else, just my name. I didn’t move. Then, I was being pulled at my waist. I had a feeling that if I gave up my body to that warmth, the shivering would stop.

Pathetic. Really, if I do say so myself, pathetic. What a state of affairs. There’s a limit to how pathetic one can be. Even if it’s your first meeting with this magic beast, this is too much.

Yes, a magical beast.

To anyone’s eyes, this dark red creature is obviously a magic beast. That evil appearance, sinister and filled with evil intent.

Wielding the staff in one hand, and holding me tightly in the other, Edi continued to chant in a clear voice. From four directions of the room, dazzling silver chains stretched out to bind the creature.

「Kii」, the sound of nails scratching on glass, un unpleasant shriek made my eardrums throb. Enduring the impulse to cover my ears, I intently watched the scene. Edi stopped his chanting and asked the creature,

「I’ve got just one question for you, bastard. Tell me who made a contract with you and cast a curse on Filmina.」

A chilly voice, as cold as absolute zero. That voice, without one iota of emotion, indicated exactly how angry he was.

At Edi’s question, the magic creature’s mouth twisted.

「Kihihihi! Who would tell you? It’s your fault that our king…」

「I think I said I only had one question.」

As Edi talked, the silver chains tightened. He had no such thing like mercy. The creature writhed in an attempt to somehow escape its chains, but after glancing at Edi’s expression, I realized it was futile. The creature must have realized that too, and after showing a face of despair, it laughed as though it was broken.

「Kihi! Kihihihihihi!」

Those black eyes goggled at us, looking like peering into the depths of hell. I shivered reflexively. Edi’s arm around my waist tightened its grip. As I leaned in to him, the beast laughed again, as if it were making fun of me.

「Kihihihi! That woman! Cursing her was easy!」

Its unpleasant, shrill voice beat against my eardrum.

「Unattractive, unskilled, useless! Hated by the spirits, an impure one!」

Against the barrage of resentment, I had no rebuttal. Why, because it was all true.

I’m not pretty, nor do I have any special talents. When I took this injury on my back from a high ranking spirit, I lost their divine protection- even general-purpose healing magic became ineffective. But I haven’t once thought that was a bad thing.

True, it would be handy if my injuries could heal quickly, but normal medical care works fine enough for me, so there’s no problem. That thought might be because of the memories of the previous me. But even so, even if I think like that, those around me don’t. Particularly, this man standing right beside me.

「Curse you! Curse you! Drown in eternal darkness!」

Edi muttered something quietly. Not noticing, the creature continued its verbal abuse. I wonder if eternal darkness would be like that nightmare. I see, that’s it exactly. Certainly, if I continue to see that nightmare, I would drown in it, and die. In that pure black darkness, with nothing but that crying voice, echoing.

「Curse you! Curse you! Curse y-」

「Shut up, I said.」

Edi suddenly let go of the staff, and it fell to the ground. The staff’s ornament resounded clearly, like a row of bells. The magic gemstone’s light faded, and the silver chains’ brightness dimmed. The creature regained its composure and made to ridicule me in its high voice again. But it looked at Edi and stiffened.

Before I could see Edi’s face to find what had happened, he separated from me and advanced toward the magic beast. Using the hand that used to be holding his staff, he reached out toward the creature’s head, his white hand a contrast to the creature’s red skin. And moving, almost gently, he gripped the monster’s head, and at the same time, there was a sound of something burning.

「Say it. The one who made a contract with you.」

「Heeeeee!」

The screams before were nothing compared to this one. This pain must be much worse than that of the silver chains. Unable to twist away, it simply continued to scream.

I smelled something burning. The smell was nauseating, and I covered my nose and mouth with both hands. Despite the fact that it was this bad to me, who was still a short distance away, Edi, in the thick of it, didn’t move a muscle. He simply gripped the creature’s head, watching its shrieking figure.

「I- I can’t tell you! That was part of the contract!」

The creature finally managed to get that out, piece by piece. From behind him, I couldn’t see what expression Edi was making.

「I see,」 he said, nodding, 「Then I have no more use for you.」

As if crushing an overripe, rotting fruit, he squeezed the beast’s head. It was over in an instant. The monster’s flesh, instead of staining Edi’s hands, dissolved into thin, sand-like particles, and floated away into space. Then, with a thud, an octogonal object fell to the ground.

It was wrapped in silver thread. If I said I wasn’t curious about it, I’d be lying. But before that, there was something more important.

「Edi」

「…」

「Edi, look at me.」

Even though I called him twice, he didn’t respond. Deciding that waiting anymore was pointless, I stepped forward, moving to face him. Looking up at that beautiful face, I placed my hands on his cheeks.

「And for what reason are you making such a pitiful face?」

「… I’m sor-」

「If you say it, I’ll pinch your cheeks.」

「……」

An outsider might think his expression emotionless, but to me it seemed like he was about to cry. Really, what a hopeless guy.

After all this, I wouldn’t let him say something like 「I’m sorry」. That wasn’t what I wanted him to say.

「It’s okay.」

Before we came to this underground room, that statement he said was unreliable, I said again.

「It’s okay, Edi. I’m okay.」

The one who gave my the courage to face my nightmare was none other than this man. The scar on my back was only proof that I protected him. So I’m okay already.

But despite that, this man worries about me, more than I do. That’s why, no matter what, he tries to protect me. Even though that’s more painful to me than actually getting hurt.

「I couldn’t find out the name of the one who curse you.」

「Oh.」

「Why are you acting like this doesn’t concern you?」

At him raising his voice, I couldn’t help but smile. Basically, what he wanted to say was that this curse wasn’t solved yet. Which was certainly troubling. My hands touching his cheeks, his sunrise-colored eyes cast down. I smiled at that hopeless man.

「You’ll be there for me, won’t you. So, I’m okay.」

At my words, he swallowed, and embraced me. Wrapping my arms around him, patting his back. It’s okay. It’ll be okay. If I have this warmth, I can believe that everything will be okay. Pretending not to notice the strawberry-blond face in my mind, or the crying voice ringing in my ear, I continued to repeat,

「It’s okay.」