375 372. Torn page.txt (2/2)

--The fifth stage was the 'Magic' plan.

This seems to be the summation of the above four plans.

It was roughly described as a rough vision of the future, that in a thousand years, all of mankind will be able to master magic, have it help them live their lives and save the world with it.

I chuckle at the fact that it's a bit too fantastical when it comes to this point.

Perhaps this is Helmina's personal wish here. I skipped the fifth step and finished reading the book.

Then I read it again.

Once I've got the whole thing down, it's time to extract the important parts.

So far, the only thing I wanted to copy was the third step, ”The Magic Stone Line”. The fourth stage, 'Demon Stone Man', was too unrealistic.

It seems that Helmina had made a copy of the human anatomy when she imitated the doctor, but I don't think it's possible to replicate life with this...

Hmm?

As I was flipping through the medical pages, one picture caught my attention.

It was a picture of white 'thread' like lines drawn underneath a person's skin.

On the page of nerves (...), I stopped.

'Does it look like ......?'

I muttered as I compared it to the white 'thread' that stretched across my fingertips.

When I was a child, the castle's resident physician told me once that the human body has lines called nerves.

It was said that the human body is lined with lines called nerves, which carry instructions from the brain to move the hands and feet.

Ms. Hermina's book contained a list of detailed information about nerves.

Next to blood, nerves are second only to blood in relation to 'demonic poison'.

The nerve is the second most closely related to the ”demonic venom” after blood, and is responsible for transporting the ”demonic poison,” even if only slightly.

This transporting process stimulates the nerves and leads to the extraordinary suffering of the 'Devil's Poison' disease.

When I read that information, I suddenly remembered a piece of knowledge - it's something I learned from my master.

-- it was about the mechanism of the spell, ”Level Up”, that my master taught me.

The 《Level Up》 is imagined to be the transformation of 'demonic poison' into 'human life force', and among the processes is the creation of a cellular analogue (・・・・・・) (...).

It's also a 'cell with no mass as a substance' that apparently replicates a human organism.

I don't understand everything yet, but my master told me that ”leveling up” is also possible for immunity, instantaneous power, speed of nerve (...) transmission, expansion of the brain area, etc.

So, for example: .......

With enough 'demonic poison', can the nerves and so forth be increased indefinitely ......?

The longer the replication continues, the more invisible nerves will grow until one day they can no longer fit inside the human body.

Speculation led to speculation, and in a chain of events I also remembered the pained face of my sister Yotaki.

Then I checked it against the notes on nerves in the book at hand.

”The nerves are very sensitive and delicate organs. It is not something that can be removed very well, as it also controls the sense of pain. Just the mere touch of air would cause a large adult to scream. It could be an alternative to the magic stone wire, but if they tried to remove it, the subject would go insane with pain. First of all, it would be impossible to perform a surgical act in a space with 'Demonic Poison'.

As I recall, it was said that sister Youtaki's body had more 'demonic poison' going in and out of it than others.

''No ......, that's not true ......''

”Aikawa Yotaki is the most special of all,” he thought he knew better than anyone else.

With his special thinking skills, he treated me, a fool with power, like a baby.

But even if you are special, is that really possible?

An instinctive fear slowly spreads in his chest.

That swelling anxiety is about to explode at any moment...

Tiara!　Forward, look ahead!

I was about to shake my body when an abrupt cry snapped me out of the crucible of my thoughts.

My master, running next to me, was pointing ahead.

''There are people ahead!

What?　Oh, yeah!

I lifted my eyes from the book and focused on the reins.

We were now on a path that stretched along the perimeter of a forest. In the middle of the path, a child was squatting on his or her stomach.

Wary of the thieves, we stop Al-Ana and watch carefully from a distance.

Then I look at the profile of the squatting child and let my voice trail off.

'Huh?　That time at ......?

Not only did he recognize her face, but also her sick clothes.

It was the girl I saw in the 'First Demonic Research Institute' ward thirty days ago.

She was the girl I met when I was searching for the darkness in people, and she was also the one with a strong heart who smiled at her parents, telling them that she was fine, even though she was dying from her illness.

I thought she was also disposed of by Romis because she was exposed to her master's 《Level Up》: .......

Could it be that she was among the defectors that Helmina-san had mentioned? If so, I'm a little glad. My master may have liked the boy, but I liked this girl.

''Could it be that you know Tiara?''

Seeing my eyes light up, my master wondered.

I nodded back at his question.

'Yeah. Speaking of acquaintances, do I know you?　Maybe it's the girl Helmina was talking about that didn't fill the roster.

”--Hey!　Really!

'Did you run away from Fania and hide in the woods here ......?　I can't wait to reassure her.

I quickly stepped down from Al-Ana, left the book with my master, and approached the girl at a small run.

I had a smile on my face.

The girl had once defied the expectations of my skill 'reading' and had a mind as strong as mine. Maybe she could help me get rid of the anxiety in my chest right now. With that little bit of hope, I run up to her and gently call out to her.

'Hey, do you remember me?　I've seen you in the hospital before, haven't I?　I'm on my way back to Hoosier's right now: ......

In order not to frighten her, I first told her that I was not a Fania person.

However, the girl didn't move, not even a twitch. I thought she would run away in a hurry, but that wasn't the case. I became concerned and touched the girl's shoulder as she squatting and tried to look at her body.

'Does your tummy hurt?　Are you okay?

I was on my knees, trying to look into her face--

”-- not okay (・・・・・・・)

The light glinted in the girl's hand, along with her twin eyes, which were coated with murderous intent.

The dagger she held was so smooth, it stabbed into my abdomen.

''--!

The surprise was greater than anything else.

This is because the girl is so different from before.

The head is the same, but the rest of the body is not human. The hand that held the weapon has three fingers, and the arm is full of feathers.

The features of the example Majinin are showing. However, I had been told of the change by Helmina-san beforehand, so I wasn't that surprised.

What surprised me the most was the girl's twin eyes.

The gentle eyes that had once accepted everything in the world were completely stagnant.

It was as if the whole world was cursed - a person's darkness swirled around them.

When he confirms this, the dagger thrust into his abdomen begins to move.

--Ugly.

If the dagger is twisted like this, the organs will be damaged to the point that even the 'spellcraft' cannot recover.

You're too careless. How could I be so careless--

Oh, my God!

I shouted and backed away from the dagger.

But the girl, anticipating this, leans forward and tries to thrust the dagger forward.

-- in that life-threatening moment (・・・・・), my skill 'reading' is activated.

And then, very messily, a series of sentences float through my mind.

”Quickly, Tiara Hoozeyars drew the sword at her waist. Then, using her momentum, she slashed right across the torso of the girl who had become a demon. There was no hesitation in that movement, and the girl who had just become a demoness could not avoid that flash.

Oh.

By the time I came to myself, it was all over.

I escaped the dagger and avoided the fatal wound.

Instead, there was a girl lying on the road, split into her upper and lower body.

In front of me, a pool of blood pooled in front of me.

There was nausea in the back of my throat, my eyes and nose were oddly sinking, and my vision was red from the return blood.

I've used my sword.

I had used only 'body arts' all my life, and in the end, I had never gotten my hands dirty, but I had finally slashed a person.

But I didn't expect - at this time, I didn't think I would use this sword against this opponent, and I dropped the sword in my hand. Then, in that confusion, I run up to the girl who put it on my hand.

'It's ......, you're okay!　Hey!　Are you okay?

Many times I listened, hoping that miraculously the words would come back to me: ”It's okay”.

But in response to the question, the girl spits blood out of her mouth and starts talking about something else entirely.

'Hah, hah, hah--ah, ah, ....... Wow, we were happy ....... I was so happy while I was being tricked .......

Thanks to the demon's life force, the girl was still alive even if her body was cut in two pieces.

However, her last words were the opposite of what I wanted.

''My lord is as kind as a saint ...... in a world where there is not a single scary person and only gentle people ......

I can also see that the lord of the world is Romis, not Mr. Helmina.

I can also see that the world the girl is referring to is the Fania before my master and I came.

'That man (...) ......, why didn't you stop--?'

The girl turned her gaze to her master, but kept whispering to me alone.

I guess the girl, like Romis, knows exactly who was the most evil person in the world. I can be blamed for why I pushed my master's back that day.

'Hey, please - send us all back over there ....... I don't want to die in a place like this ....... I don't want to disappear in this dark truth ...... yet.

As her voice died out, the girl wished that she could turn back time to just before the 'magic' was broken, and she wept. And then, just like that--.

I wish I could have believed in ...... and been happy until the moment I died.

She stopped.

The girl remained still, eyes open, staring at the dark clouds.

The only thing that moved was the blood that flowed.

'Dead, is that ......?'

With a flash of my stupidity, my torso was detached from my body.

He had to be dead.

I just couldn't believe that fact yet.

'Oh, I didn't mean to ......, but now it's ......'

In my confused mind, I could tell for sure.

The girl was happy as long as she believed in the 'Altofel religion'.

It was us who took it away from her. So, the girl resented and cursed us, and died.

'--Thiara!　Take a deep breath!　Calm down and listen to me!

As I continued to tremble in front of the girl, my master shouted in my ear.

He then placed his hand on the wound on my abdomen and muttered while performing the treatment with 'spellcraft'.

''It can't be helped now. If I didn't do it, Tiara would have been killed.''

Can't help it: ......?

It can't be helped.

The master didn't hear the girl's will - the last words of resentment. That's why he could say such a thing. If I had listened to it, I'm sure I would have been the one to be killed, of course--

”-What?　I can't stop bleeding!

As if to reflect my thoughts, she continued to bleed from her abdomen.

The 'spellcraft' that completely healed the broken bones and burns from the fight with Romis did not heal the girl's stab wounds alone.

The master approaches the girl's corpse in an attempt to find out the cause of this.

'The knife wasn't coated with poison. It's not even rusted. Even the 'magic power' is enough ......!　Why ......!

Unable to find anything, the Master grunts.

Seeing the contorted face of my master, I instinctively try to be strong and move.

But his body has no strength at all, and I prod him to his knees.

''Ah, le......''

The chill I had been feeling all along had suddenly doubled here.

It felt as if my mind was getting colder and colder as my body temperature was getting lower and lower.

Both my mind and body were weakening, and my vision shook greatly.

'Tiara!　Come on.

-------- ------tttt ！！！！

My master tried to support and encourage my body, but he was interrupted in the middle.

The roar of the beasts rang out in layers from the forest.

No, more accurately, it was a distorted cry than the beasts - the roar of the monsters (monsters).

'Mo, monsters!　d*mn it, at a time like this!

I could hear the distinctive footsteps of a heavy animal. I could tell, even in my dazed state, that monsters were approaching from all directions.

'Tiara, get out of here!　Just bear with me for a minute!

My master hurriedly got on his own alauna with my body in his arms and let me run.

It was a spur-of-the-moment two-man ride, but perhaps thanks to my small size, the clever Al'auna tried to respond.

'Hah, hah, hah--'

My breath is ragged. The fact that I've been in bad shape for a while now adds to the pain.

I'm just used to being painful, and as I'm carried away, I check out the situation.

--something is wrong.

The girl is waiting for me when I'm upset by the book and I'm stabbed with a dagger. And by chance, my body is in a slump, my mind is weaker than ever before, my treatment with 'spellcraft' has failed, and the monsters I don't often encounter are now approaching in large numbers. Even if they were drawn by the smell of blood, there are too many of them. Too fast.

-- too badly done (・・・・・・・).

He turns his attention to his own abdomen.

There was a wound there that not only couldn't be closed, but was festering at a frightening rate.

Some kind of special power -- Fania's 'blood power' may have been involved.

-- An inconvenient thing, too much of a chain of events.

When I thought about the reason for that bad luck, I suddenly felt -- I felt pulled (・・・・・・) by a 'thread'.

'--Huh?'

I just had a feeling, but it was enough for my gaze to shift.

I would see what lay beyond the 'thread'.

The 'thread' continued into the plain on the road - a break in the air (...).

Naturally, I thought that the Thread was connected to Hoozeyer's. But it was not.

But that was not the case. Where there should be nothing, there is a gap that one person can pass through, and the ”thread” continues to the vast world that lies behind the gap.

And my gaze followed the end of the thread, and

Eye contact (・・・・).