Chapter 47: Mahiro Nishizono Wants to Atone

"《Install》— Deep Curse"

Something thick and disgusting spread through my heart like sludge.

Installing an existence placed an enormous strain on the body.

It felt awful. Really awful... but I had to do it.

"Nishizono-san!"

I heard the Connector, Shinozaki Nagisa, call out to me.

Our eyes met. Lucky you, getting to hold hands with Sora-chan.

Even that thought was swallowed up instantly.

When the target was designated vaguely, the nearest one would be selected.

And the only Deep Curses here were Beast-type Deep Curses.

Something black and blurred wrapped around my arms, legs—my entire body.

Claws sprouted from the mass covering my limbs.

Fur spread across my shoulders and legs as well.

Maybe ears had grown too.

Thinking vaguely about things like that, I stared at the Hybrid before me.

I pushed strength into my legs and leapt forward. I closed the distance to the Hybrid in an instant. It no longer even felt like my own body.

I vaulted over the leg it swung to swat me away. My body felt light.

Closing in, I slashed my claws across its torso.

Cracks spread through the Hybrid where my claws tore into it. Its massive face slowly turned toward me.

"Break."

My hand swelled grotesquely as power gathered inside it. The giant face lunged at me, jaws opening wide, trying to bite me whole.

Then I’d do the same thing back to it.

My swollen hand transformed into a similar giant face, writhing grotesquely as it stretched outward.

It bit into the enemy’s neck.

And crushed it apart.

At the same time, the thing covering my body cracked apart with loud crk-crk sounds before collapsing away.

...The Install’s effect had worn off.

But I defeated one Hybrid.

At least I was being useful.

"Mahhii, are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine... I'll still do it myself."

"Hey, you really don't have to push yourself that far."

"This isn't the place to use Shishiba-san's power."

I brushed aside the worried Shishiba Honoka and Kurogawa Kisa before looking toward the remaining Hybrids.

They were both kind people who had always worried about me. I already knew that from the game.

Thank goodness.

I was glad the people fighting beside me were people like them.

Around us, spears of light rained down from above.

Ice and lightning were being unleashed the same way.

Looks like Kototsuka Reina was fighting alongside Sora-chan too.

Thinking that I was fighting together with characters from the game made me a little happy.

Like I'd become special too.

"《Install》— Akagami Sora"

Something felt strange about my hair and eyes.

Like they were twisting and changing into something else.

Thump.

My heartbeat surged.

Power overflowed endlessly from within me.

Ahaha... so this is a fragment of Abaddon’s power.

...No. I can't let it consume me.

An Install could never completely absorb something. So this was probably only a fraction of that power.

"《Saint Arts》— Wrath of God"

When I raised my hand upward, light overflowed from the ceiling, condensed, and fired downward.

The Hybrid standing at the impact point was burned away instantly.

It was erased before it could even resist.

What incredible power.

But the strength left me almost immediately afterward.

It was so powerful I could only use it for a single instant.

"Cough... cough..."

"Hey, Mahhii! Don't overdo it!"

"I'm fine. So... Kurogawa-san, lend me your power too?"

"What do you mean?"

I touched Kurogawa-san, who was supporting me while trying to help.

Direct contact made it easier to absorb someone.

"《Install》— Kurogawa—"

"Stop that."

Shishiba-san grabbed my hand.

"W-Why?"

"Huh? What is even happening here? Are you okay?"

Sora-chan hurried over, looking troubled.

"Mahiro Nishizono, you're completely out of control."

"Nishizono-san, don't run off by yourself."

"Exactly. Calm down."

...Wait, why was everyone surrounding me?

B-But...

I had to do it.

Since Iijima Kanon wasn't here, I had to work harder.

...Or at least, that was what I thought. Maybe I'd been panicking.

There weren't even any enemies in front of us right now.

Shishiba-san sighed in exasperation before finally letting go of my hand.

"Mahhii, don't charge in recklessly, okay?"

Kurogawa-san, who usually always smiled, looked at me anxiously.

Behind her, Kototsuka-san watched me with an expression caught between worry and disbelief.

"S-Sorry. We defeated the Hybrids, so let's go."

Apparently Sora-chan had defeated the Beast-type Deep Curses without me noticing.

And I had defeated the Hybrid.

That meant we could move safely now.

I'd lost control.

I didn't need to keep rampaging around just because I was filling in for Iijima-san.

"Right. Everyone, let's move."

—Just as Shinozaki Nagisa said that, another massive shadow appeared.

Why.

Why why why?

Why do they keep getting in the way?

If there were this many Hybrids, we wouldn't be able to advance safely.

Iijima-san got hurt protecting me.

Because of that, she couldn't sortie, and we could no longer safely advance toward the center.

Then because of me...

Someone might die.

I didn't want that.

This pissed me off.

All they ever did was get in the way.

"...Sora-san, can you do something about that?"

"Ughhh... that's gonna be rough. Nagisa-kun's about to get blown away at this rate."

Three newly appeared Hybrids stood before us, and Sora-chan grimaced at the sight.

...No.

I couldn't let Sora-chan bear any more burden.

At this rate, her Abaddon transformation would worsen and definitely kill her.

"This time, I'll do it myself."

"You can't handle that alone, Honoka."

"She's right. We'll help too."

Everyone prepared to charge forward.

...We'd gotten separated from the other teams.

When the Hybrids appeared, everyone had scattered.

So nobody else was here except us.

Even those three might not survive against multiple Hybrids.

...I have to do it.

The First Deep Calamity destroyed countless places.

The Second Deep Calamity did the same.

The Third Deep Calamity attacked Sora-chan and the others.

Those were all parts of the original story we could never interfere with.

—But during the Fifth Deep Calamity, Sora-chan and the others overcame the tragedy of the original story through sheer determination.

Then what about the Fourth Deep Calamity?

There was no way it should create a tragedy even worse than the original.

"《Install》— Fourth Deep Calamity"

That's why I'd change the flow of events myself.

At the very least, let the sacrifices end with only me.

Throb. Throb.

My body burned hot.

It felt like my entire body was cracking apart.

A disgusting, sludge-like sensation overflowed outward.

"Ahaha..."

Elation wrapped around me.

It felt amazing.

Like I could crush absolutely everything beneath me.

The overwhelming flood of information from the Install threatened to crush me entirely.

Of course it did.

No single Curse Seeker could possibly endure the information of such an overwhelming existence.

Something burst from my limbs and began swelling enormously.

Gradually, it took shape.

It wrapped around me, becoming a gigantic body.

My own body was changing.

Centered around the me embedded within it, a colossal mass of Deep Curses began forming together.

This was not something a single Curse Seeker was ever meant to withstand.

Somehow, I understood that I was merging with the Deep Curse and becoming a new existence.

Those who pursued curses—Curse Seekers—would eventually become curses themselves.

The final form of a Curse Seeker.

One possible end awaiting them.

If the King of the Abyss, Abaddon, was a being capable of wielding overwhelming power from the abyss-like source of all power—

Then what I was becoming now...

If this new Deep Curse needed a name—

Yeah.

"Beast of Ruin, Megatherion" would probably fit perfectly.

Thinking something so ridiculous, I began moving this gigantic body.