434 430. Sea of ??blood.txt (1/2)

I've corrected the mixed lines, but my mind continues to buzz.

'Phew ......, hah ......'

I calmed down and took a deep breath.

The scent of this blood soothes me.

I can feel the nostalgic air of home, even though the city is probably half submerged in the red sea.

Where once the water level of my blood was only up to my ankles, here it was above my knees.

It was hard to move, as if I had put my foot in the swamp.

My nose ached, my eyes were sinking, and I could taste the iron in the back of my tongue.

The sound of ripples clung to his ears all the time.

It's the sound of the rising and falling of the blood tide that floods the continent.

The distant screams echoing from afar also combine to form a single piece of music.

--The sounds of my everyday life have calmed my murmuring heart.

However, there were also a few unfamiliar noises mixed in with the pleasant sounds of life.

The high-pitched voice of a girl with an oddly strong accent.

In front of me, a dark-haired, red-eyed girl, Kounel, who was also immersed in a sea of blood, speaks.

''--Uh, um, Chairman?　That ”blood puppet” isn't disappearing like the other ones, is it?　They're just staring at us!　I've been doing this for a while now!

Quinnell: ......?

This is that (...) ”Kounel Shuls”?

I find out that the girl who is currently pointing at me and trembling is a real high-level demon, and I get a little excited.

Apparently, it seems that Kanami and I were able to share a little bit of knowledge by connecting with the 《Distance Mute》.

Thanks to that, I can find out about the 'primary attackers' here and the place where I woke up.

Now we are at a point one day further than the place where humanity built its protective barrier.

The original map would have shown the capital of the Legia nation.

'Don't mind him, Kounel,' she said. She's the one...

And it was Kanami, the leader of the 'Primary Attack Team', who answered the quunnel.

She moved her gaze from me, who had taken a step back, and laughed to reassure the quunel next to her.

''Ah, what's the hit!　To be honest, I have a bad feeling about what the Chairman says: ......

But rather, Kanami's smile seems to have accelerated Kounell's anxiety.

Towards the frightened Kounel, I try to tell her that there is no threat.

''-- There is no need to worry. I'm just one (1) cleaner everywhere.''

This was not the Institute.

But I tried my best to dismiss her concerns by using a poorly worded but respectful language, as if I were a staff member welcoming a guest.

'Ha ......?　Huh?　Could it be, 'Blood Doll'? Are you saying something to me right now?

”Yes, sir. I am talking to you now. I'm just a janitor, so feel free to call me janitor.

What?　Wow, 'I'm a handled rag and a liquid mop'?　The sunset in your mouth is all over the schoolyard, what's that?　I'm scared!

But that frantic communication is empty and empty.

The words are not being communicated normally.

Kounell has heard something else than the words I have uttered.

It's sad to say ......, but apparently, she's just like the people in the Institute of Research once.

This bloody environment has taken its toll on her head, and her language skills have been affected.

This is very troubling - and just when I thought that this was very troubling, a helper is sent out from next door.

'Kounel,' she says, 'I'm just a janitor, don't worry about it. Just feel free to call her a janitor.'

No, I would never say that!　Well, I've got a good ear for it.　Obviously, I just said, 'I'm a handled rag and a liquid mop'. ...... Mr. Chairman, I'm seriously scared, so let's not make that kind of badly done ghost story joke.

Kanami reiterated my words to me, but Kounell refused to believe them.

I wonder how much he doesn't trust me, he does.

'Kounel, I don't joke about these things. Ever since I've been here, I've been serious.

'...... ma, really?　I mean seriously, are you on the same wavelength with this 'blood puppet' as the Chairman?

'No, that's not quite right. I'm just reliving the same life and getting to understand her a little better.

I continue to patiently persuade her, and finally Kounel breaks down.

Finding that I could only communicate with Kanami, she looked around in disbelief.

There are only two members left of the ”Primary Attack Team”.

Seldra, the dragon man (Dragon Newt), nodded with a frown, and the female Sith with her wings of magic power at her back turned her face down and roared.

'Seems to be true. It's going to give me a headache if I think about it too much: ......

'Well, that's not the point, it's sickening. Kanami, ”Biniuru Bukuro”, another one ......

The two of us here don't seem to understand what I'm saying either (the Sith one may be too sick to even notice my presence in the first place: ......).

It's very unfortunate, but Kanami seems to be the only one in this search party who is keeping his sanity intact.

It's a bit disheartening to find out that even the lavish members of the party, Kounel, the upper level demon Kounel, Seldra from The One Who Stole the Reason of Nothing, and Sith, the Apostle, can't stand this environment.

Seeing me shrug my shoulders in relief, Kanami speaks with a bitter smile.

'Cleaners. I'm sure you already know most of what's going on with the Distance Mute, but right now we're on our way to see Fafner.

'...... Yes, I see that. I understand a little better from my earlier reliving experience or something.

Along the way, I help as much as I can reach. I'm not defeating 'blood puppets' like you, but rather connecting with them through the Distance Mute, reading their lives, understanding their 'unfinished business' and showing them their 'dreams' through magic. It's like you're going around chanting ...... nembutsu and letting it come to fruition.

Kanami jokes, but it's a truly horrible thing to do.

Just a few minutes ago he read my life from birth to death in order to understand it without misunderstanding.

He condensed roughly ten years' worth of time into an instant and then drilled it into his brain.

Normally, his brain would burn out.

Moreover, my life, which is full of torture and humiliation, is too depressing to condense.

And yet, now he is worried about my 'happiness' and 'peace of mind' with an unconcerned look on his face.

When I shift my gaze to the side, I see many, many lumps of flesh floating on the shallows of blood. These must be the remnants of the ”blood dolls” that have come to life.

As far as I can see now, I can count at least ten.

Even as a decade or so of experience per one, he has already aged mentally here for a hundred years or so. That fact really frightens me and worries me.

'Are you ......, well, are you okay ......?'

''I'm still fine. With my current magical power, I can use Distance Mute in succession. You didn't have any regrets, so it looks like you won't need to use the Winter's Other World (Wintry Dimension).

I pounded my chest and bragged that I still had MP.

I wasn't talking about magical power, I was talking about mental exhaustion, but it didn't come across well.

Even if they're sane, when they don't get it, they don't get it.

'Yeah.' --There wasn't a single 'unfinished business' with the cleaner. You lived your life so well that I honestly don't know why your soul is trapped in here. If you need a 'mourning', I can send you on your way, but what do you want?

Those words are kind.

Truly gentle.

But if I looked into those black eyes, I felt as if the bottomless abyss had gone on forever.

When you say 'mourning', those eyes turn to nothingness in the air.

Normally, there is a kind of 'slit' there, and I, the dead, should be heading to the back of it. ......

'If you go that way, everyone will be waiting for you ......?'

Yeah, I'm waiting. Your 'family' is all waiting for you.

Her eyes were jet-black, as if she was absorbing it.

They were full of warmth and compassion.

She looks the same as she did a thousand years ago, a good-natured person who could be fooled if she wanted to.

But it's not.

Without a doubt, things have changed since then.

The boy who was once frowning at the Research Institute has not shown any unrest in this 'Blood Land'.

He must have been trained in mind and body by overcoming many 'trials'.

Even if someone tries to commit suicide here and now, he has the power to stop them without hesitation.

If someone dies right in front of you, you have the mental strength to look after them quietly.

No matter what kind of inexcusable situation we face, we have the ability to look forward and move forward.

I can be sure of that.

Is this the man who is going to see Fafner now?

Somehow, when I imagined the scene, I thought--

I'm not done yet.

'Yes ....... By the way, do you know what the road here is?　As you can see, it's a very easy place to get lost.

''I have no idea. I've never been out of that institute, and now I've just woken up, so ....... However, I do know one thing. If you head to the source of this Red Sea ripple, there is a 'Blood Stealer'. Even a thousand years ago, that was the case.

Thank you. Good information.

”No. ......

Kanami thanked me dutifully, even though I'm sure she already knew this information.

I take a step back, realizing that I can no longer be of any use to this party.

Then I focus on myself.

I looked at my palms and they were just as bright red as the 'Blood Land'.

The body is constructed of resilient liquid, just like the 'Demon' mixed with slime type monsters.

The human flesh was gone, and the doll moved only with magical blood.

It's a body that deserves the name 'blood doll' that Kounel mentioned earlier.

Unexpectedly, I seem to have come close to being a 'demon' like my parents.

It's no shock. I've seen those kinds of changes and modifications many times, and I can't help but say that my body has become more beautiful compared to my body before I was born.

As I was shaking my new body and other things, I could hear the voices of the members who were a bit farther away.

''Ho, I really was talking to a 'blood doll' ......!　The chairman's severity of the problem is increasing rapidly again. ...... Help me, Sith-sama!

Please don't shake me. I can't do this right now. I'm up to my throat.