I'm Not the Savior!
I'm not a savior! Thump. Thump thump. Shin-ah could barely collect her thoughts amid the pounding heartbeat she'd never felt in her twenty years of life. 'Me, me, calling me princess...?' The prankster had forced her into this indecent outfit, demanding she dance for him. The girl, who had always worn comfortable clothes, was already mortified at having to don something like this on the ghost story's orders. The deeply plunging neckline and the blatantly exposed leg line made her want to bite her tongue and die from embarrassment.
But why was this happening?
The man in the sleek black suit and white mask—a mengmang-grade ghost story, Phantom—had called her princess in that moment. 'I thought I'd never suit such a girly dress... but in your eyes, I look like a princess...?' Deep down, the girl started to like the dress.
No matter how tough she'd grown up learning all sorts of hand-to-hand combat and martial arts since childhood, she was still a young twenty-year-old freshman. Having matured that way, now that her girlish heart was bursting forth, she couldn't control herself—she twisted her body this way and that, lost in all sorts of fantasies. 'I-I held Phantom's h-hand earlier...!' Shin-ah recalled the warmth still lingering in her hand. He was definitely a ghost story. A being from another dimension beyond human understanding. 'But it was warm... just like an ordinary person...' And when she'd held Phantom's hand, his eyes had slowly scanned her face, chest, waistline, and legs. She'd thought it odd at first, especially how his gaze lingered on her chest. 'Now I get why...'
The jet-black aura emanating from him felt like a sharp wind. It didn't actually cut her skin, but every brush brought an inexplicable chill that made her body tremble instinctively. 'Phantom was worried about that exact spot. Seeing so much bare skin in this outfit... he was concerned if I'd be scared when he unleashed his power...' Moreover, despite having the power to dispatch the prankster in an instant, he'd waited patiently until she climbed onto the stage and took his hand. He'd held back his power to avoid provoking the prankster into harming her, waiting for her to come to his safe side.
Realizing that every little action of Phantom's was for her sake, tears welled up in Shin-ah's eyes. 'Grandpa... he said Phantom was just a ruthless ghost story... but that's not what I saw. Those dark, deep eyes were calm and filled with concern...' How could someone with such immense power show this much consideration for a frail human girl like her? 'Is he really a ghost story...? No, what even is a ghost story? It's just a label we slap on things we can't comprehend. We classified Phantom as one, but he's never harmed a human, never even triggered the Netherworld or rules.'
As her thoughts reached that point, a word from the Phantom files her grandfather had shown her flashed in her mind. Savior. The title the entity named Tsuki had used for Phantom during the Eclipse incident. 'I glossed over it before, but now... that word "savior" might actually...!' On the "Day of Beginnings," when the heavens split and ghost stories appeared to kill and destroy humanity, perhaps there were opposites—beings who crossed over to protect us? The one existence that appeared to "save" humanity from ghost stories... that was...
"Phantom, you're not a ghost story...! You were the savior...! You crossed over to save humanity from ghost stories, and we've misunderstood you all this time..." No one acknowledged it, yet he'd continued his lonely battle for humanity—Phantom. Realizing his noble mission and sacrifice, transparent tears streamed from Shin-ah's eyes.
"Even misunderstood as a ghost story... you've walked that solitary path for us in silence..."
Phantom showed no particular reaction to the girl's words. But seeing his black eyes through the white mask, Shin-ah felt like he was saying:
'I have to tell Grandpa straight-up. Phantom... he's not a ghost story. I don't know if God exists, but if He does, Phantom is the savior He sent for humanity...!' As if resolving something, Shin-ah took a step toward Phantom and knelt before him.
"Thank you... for saving me... Savior..."
Why am I standing in the middle of the B1 stage right now, dressed in this cheap suit and chuunibyou mask? 'As a kid, I thought this look was cool... but wearing it now, I just want to die of embarrassment...' And why is the girl in front of me staring at me with those sparkling eyes? 'Sure, I came to save you guys... but isn't that worshipful look a bit much?'
Here we go with the savior meta again. I'm so used to these misunderstandings by now. 'Well... at least the ghost story's gone, so I can just slip away quietly now, right? Notification Window, shadow shift please—'
"Haaaauuuuuw~! Si-hyun, your outfit is so cool today! Phantom saving everyone under the moonlight in the darkness! I-I'm falling for you all over again...!"
♥(〃´૩`〃)♥
Praising my chuunibyou fashion after showing up after so long? Your fashion sense is stuck in puberty too. 'You read my "embarrassing" thought earlier... you're teasing me, right?'
"N-No!! Si-hyun looks cool in anything! The moment the girl playing Christine came on stage and took your hand, you transformed into Phantom like you'd been waiting! It felt like watching a play!"
That was just me stuck on stage watching the sunset? The ceiling's open here, so the sky's perfect to see. 'But who knew this place would become ground zero... I really had no idea.'
Blissfully ignorant of my inner turmoil, the notification window flitted about, spamming pink hearts.
"The mysterious vibe of Si-hyun is so cool... kkhihihit♡♡ Next time, I'll add prince-like clothes to the beginner package—"
'Stop right there.'
"Hueeng?"
—Grab! If I let her be, she'd cook up something weird again, so I grabbed the notification window and pleaded desperately. 'Please, for the love of god, don't add anything strange to the beginner package or new abilities... I'll wear what you want sometimes. Got it?'
"Hweat...?! R-Reallyyy~?!"
(≧ᗜ≦)
Better to choose my own weird outfit than be forced into one... 'I'll keep my promise, so turn on shadow shift now. These people's stares are too intense; I can't take it.'
"Kkhihihit...! You promised, Si-hyun~! Shadow shift activating now!"
The moment the notification window was about to trigger shadow shift—
—Thud!
Suddenly, the girl in front of me dropped to her knees in a prayer pose. "Thank you for saving me and my friend... and everyone. Savior!"
Starting with her action, the people below the stage, who had been staring blankly at me, began kneeling one by one.
'Wha-what are you guys doing all of a sudden?'
—Thud!
—Thud!
—Thud!
"Ahh... yes, that's right. He must be the savior who came to rescue us!"
"I heard he only appears in catastrophe-grade or higher dangers... but he rushed here after hearing about innocent kids dying in this disaster-grade incident...!"
"I see... he wears the mask so the kids won't be scared of his face...!"
"To think we lumped such a noble being with ghost stories... how badly have we misunderstood...?"
People started spouting nonsense and fanboying over me one after another. Misunderstandings galore. I could only let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity. 'The mask? My princess at home slapped it on me so I wouldn't cheat.' And what was this about only appearing in catastrophe-grade or higher? You think I went there to save you? The notification window summoned me by force!
'I'm too busy saving my own skin to play savior.'
Of course, I have compassion and sympathy. If someone gets hurt or has an accident right in front of me, I'd help. But that's only if I'm safe. 'I'm not sacrificing myself for random strangers.'
And this savior misunderstanding isn't great for me. Like I thought before, if people see Phantom as the "rescuer," they'll scream for help every time. 'Better to make them see me as the red team villain outright. That's a hundred times better than vague hero vibes.'
Guess I need to scare them one more time so they don't misunderstand again. It'll make my future easier.
—Shwoooosh!!
"Si-hyun! Shadow shift ready!"
'Oh, then before we go, have the blue-haired girl in front of me hear that she shouldn't misunderstand. It's a problem if she thinks she's chosen by the savior. Tell her to open her eyes and see reality, then we bail.'
"Hehe. Leave it to me~!!"
But handing Phantom's final words to the notification window? I'd regret that forever. Because...
What, this isn't some Digimon chosen child! Why twist my words like that?! 'No, don't mix "open your eyes" with "chosen"! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?!'
"Huaaaaaang—!! N-No violence pleeeease—!! (T_T)"
Even after Phantom left, Shin-ah knelt blankly on the stage for a while. Had encountering a mengmang-grade being drained her strength? No, the reason she stared vacantly at the sky on her knees was Phantom's final words before departing.
Phantom had publicly declared Shin-ah a chosen special existence. "He acknowledged me... the one who saw his true heart...!" Phantom had walked a lonely path of solitary battle until now. All for humanity, protecting people from irrational ghost stories.
'But Phantom must have been lonely too. No one understood him... and he was even misunderstood as a ghost story.'
Then, the girl with sky-blue eyes appeared before the weary him. The girl he met fatefully on stage realized his true identity and knelt in gratitude—how much comfort that must have brought. 'That's why, before leaving, he thanked me. For opening my eyes to the truth, his chosen girl...!' Just the fact that the lofty Phantom acknowledged her sent shivers through Shin-ah's body. And she resolved herself.
She had to tell everyone—more people—Phantom's truth...! "Ahh... now I understand. Phantom... no, you...! As the only woman chosen by you, I'll take responsibility and let the world know...! Phantom isn't a ghost story—he's the true savior who'll rescue humanity...!"
Bathed in pouring moonlight, her sky-blue hair and eyes sparkled even brighter. Shin-ah's figure exuded a noble aura, overlapping with a saintess from a tale.
