(Side Story) Arius' Suicide Seeker EP.28
Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
(Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas)
Â
Â
Â
This is the first phrase I learned upon arriving here.
Â
Â
Â
"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."
Â
Â
Â
This is the last testament I remember of myself.
Â
Â
Â
I was forcibly TS reincarnated. To Kivotos, the world of Blue Archive, a game I've since dropped.
Â
Â
Â
And the first thing I saw upon arriving here was
Â
Â
Â
[Please save Hoshino.]
Â
Â
Â
a strange message, and
Â
Â
Â
"Oh my? You're awake already?"
Â
Â
Â
a monster with a body of red and multiple eyes.
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
*
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
"...Is it morning already...."
Â
Â
Â
I woke up on the hard floor like any other morning and looked around.
Â
Â
Â
"The others... they've all gone out."
Â
Â
Â
Well, it's strange for me to be able to take a nap like this.
Â
Â
Â
After all, this is Arius.
Â
Â
Â
"Haaahm... I guess I should get ready..."
Â
Â
Â
I forced my still-tired body to wake and approached a nearby mirror.
Â
Â
Â
Of course, the mirror was broken in several places and couldn't function properly, but for me... no, for the others here, it was enough.
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
"Hmm... no problems today either."
Â
Â
Â
If anyone else saw me covered in bandages, they might be horrified, but I judged there were no issues and turned away from the mirror.
Â
Â
Â
I only came to the mirror to check if there was any excessive blood, in which case I would have needed to change them.
Â
Â
Â
...Still, I suppose even for Arius, my appearance is a bit much.
Â
Â
Â
My clothes cover it well, but my body is so covered in bandages that it's hard to find a spot without them.
Â
Â
Â
Even the others who share my suffering look at me with pity, which says it all.
Â
Â
Â
...But there's nothing I can do about it.
Â
Â
Â
No matter how many wounds I get every day,
Â
Â
Â
I can't stop trying to kill myself.
Â
Â
Â
*
Â
Â
Â
It's been a year since I came to this world of Kivotos. Or at least, it feels like it's been that long.
Â
Â
Â
Because of this, I've gotten somewhat used to living in Arius.
Â
Â
Â
Thump!
Â
Â
Â
Even if it means enduring what they call "education," which is really torture.
Â
Â
Â
"Did anyone say you could lie down! Get up now!"
Â
Â
Â
'...Should I just stay down...'
Â
Â
Â
Of course, if I just stayed down, they'd kick me soon enough.
Â
Â
Â
'I'm used to it now...'
Â
Â
Â
At first, I thought I was going crazy.
Â
Â
Â
The daily violence disguised as education was too harsh for me, who had lived a normal life.
Â
Â
Â
It was a place where not trying to kill yourself would be the strange thing.
Â
Â
Â
But maybe humans are adaptable creatures? Or maybe it's because I've been getting hit every day and attempting suicide, but I've gotten used to the torture.
Â
Â
Â
Or more accurately, I've gotten used to the pain.
Â
Â
Â
Because of that, now when I get hit, all I think is, "Ah, I'll get dirty again..."
Â
Â
Â
'...Well, I should get up anyway.'
Â
Â
Â
I wouldn't care if it was just me who got hurt. But these bastards know I'm okay with being hit, so if I don't get up, they'll harass the others.
Â
Â
Â
All because of that damn "collective responsibility."
Â
Â
Â
Especially since I'm a member of the squad.
Â
Â
Â
In the end, I gave up and got up, continuing the education.
Â
Â
Â
Of course,
Â
Â
Â
Thump!
Â
Â
Â
It wasn't long before I was rolling on the ground again.
Â
Â
Â
*
Â
Â
Â
"We will now begin today's training."
Â
Â
Â
Torture... no, the usual education time passed, and in the afternoon, the leader Saori's training began.
Â
Â
Â
This time, the training was in preparation for the upcoming Eden Treaty.
Â
Â
Â
"....."
Â
Â
Â
"Haaah..."
Â
Â
Â
Except for me and Atsuko.
Â
Â
Â
Atsuko's role in this operation was just to provide blood, so it made sense for her, but I wondered why I was excluded from such important training...
Â
However, it seems I not only receive the morning education but also got hit harder than usual during the earlier session, so they forcibly excluded me, saying I shouldn't overexert myself.
Â
Â
Â
Thanks to that, I could watch Hiyori go "Bwaaaah" more clearly, but...
Â
Â
Â
"...."
Â
Â
Â
'Being with Atsuko is too awkward. I'd rather be in training...'
Â
Â
Â
Swish
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
"Huh? Ah, it's fine, I'm not really hurt."
Â
Â
Â
Swish swish
Â
Â
Â
Â
"I appreciate the concern, but you don't have to."
Â
Â
Â
Atsuko asked about my condition with sign language and offered to treat me, but I refused, as it wasn't necessary.
Â
Â
Â
Not only did I check this morning that there were no major issues,
Â
Â
Â
'Treating me, who gets hurt all the time, is just a waste of energy.'
Â
Â
Â
So,
Â
Â
Â
"Bwaaaah!!! It hurts so much!!!"
Â
Â
Â
"Haaah... Hiyori..."
Â
Â
Â
We sat and watched Hiyori cry, passing the time.
Â
Â
Â
*
Â
Â
It was now evening.
Â
Â
Â
Normally, it would be dinner time, but since there was barely any food here, there was no such thing as dinner, and we always satisfied our hunger with an energy bar.
Â
Â
Â
And,
Â
Â
Â
"I'll be back."
Â
Â
Â
I gave my half-eaten energy bar to Hiyori, who was crying about being hungry, and stood up.
Â
Â
Â
It should be break time now, but I had something else to do.
Â
Â
Â
Something very important.
Â
Â
Â
"Sora..."
Â
Â
Â
"Sora-san..."
Â
Â
Â
"".....""
Â
Â
Â
Seeing my actions, the others who knew what I was going to do looked at me.
Â
Â
Â
Their gazes were mostly filled with pity, but no one tried to stop me.
Â
Â
Â
No, there was a time when they did. Even Misaki tried to stop me.
Â
Â
Â
But my persistent attempts,
Â
Â
Â
and the benefits we gained from my actions, eventually led them to stop interfering.
Â
Â
Â
So,
Â
Â
Â
"Don't die."
Â
Â
Â
They said things like that.
Â
Â
Â
"....Yeah."
Â
Â
Â
Even though I knew those words were a curse to me.
Â
Â
Â
*
Â
Â
Â
Creak!
Â
Â
Â
"Oh my? You're back again, not tired of it yet?"
Â
Â
Â
The space where Madam Beatrice, the current ruler of Arius, resided. I arrived here as I always did.
Â
Â
Â
For the important task I did every evening.
Â
Â
Â
And that was,
Â
Â
Â
"Right, you eyeball monster. I'll definitely kill you today."
Â
Â
Â
Challenging Madam... no, the eyeball monster to a fight, in an attempt to kill myself.
Comments (1)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.