Chapter 202
Chapter 202
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 202
Chapter Title: Souls, and Souls (2)
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“Eek!”
El’s hand moved on its own. Her hand was rapidly sucked into the mirror, its surface rippling like water. The sensation at her fingertips, now inside the mirror, was something she had never felt before in her life. It was chilling and piercing enough to make her flesh flake off, yet at the same time, utterly empty, as if she felt nothing at all.
A horrifying premonition struck El’s mind: if she crossed over to the other side of this mirror, she would never return. To avoid being pulled in, El clung desperately to the bull horns decorating the mirror frame.
‘I won’t go down like this…!’
El quickly drew the dagger from her ankle. It was the black moonstone dagger her master had lent her. He had said that this black moonstone not only possessed greater purifying power than silver but was also engraved with spells that amplified that power, making it especially effective against unclean things. Recalling how her master had given her this dagger as if foreseeing such an event, El raised it high.
And then.
-Crack!!!!
She plunged it straight into the mirror. The rippling surface hardened like a normal mirror only at the point of impact and cracked.
‘This is it!’
She was certain this dagger could shatter the mirror. El raised it high once more.
And in that instant.
-Ripple…!
The mirror’s surface churned violently. El staggered with it, and at the same time, the mirror repaired its crack and rippled fiercely. Her body shook so much she couldn’t drive the dagger down. Swinging it recklessly might pierce her own arm.
‘Better that than nothing!’
She resolved to shatter the mirror even if it meant piercing her arm and raised the dagger high again. But a glittering current yanked her body even harder. From wrist to arm, arm to elbow, elbow to shoulder! The mirror swiftly devoured El. She let out a short grunt, “Kuh.” As her strength drained, she dropped the sword, and it rolled across the floor.
‘I feel nothing!’
It didn’t hurt. There was no pain. Just… nothing. That terrified her more.
“Urgh!”
Little by little… Her body tilted further until her face was about to smash into the mirror.
-Screech!!
A small but spirited cry rang out, and a gray furball flew in from somewhere.
* * *
I leaped from the ceiling, somersaulting in midair as [Beast Form] released. I immediately used [Call of the Forest] to summon the nearest spirit.
-Plop!
The one that appeared was a spirit of the Sequoia Forest. As the blue-leafed spirit, wrapped like a bagworm, materialized, a fresh forest scent filled the air. Proof of the spirit’s pure purifying power. Even that alone subdued the momentum; I could feel the mirror’s pull on El weakening. Seizing the chance, I began pulling El back.
-Sha sha?
“Share your purifying power with her!”
El’s body was growing heavier, like someone sinking in a swamp. Damn it. I pulled with all my might and looked at the Sequoia Forest spirit.
“Please.”
-Sha sha sha….
“I know. Just for a moment.”
-Sha sha.
The Sequoia Forest spirit worried whether El could handle the forest’s purifying power. Indeed. “Purifying power” wasn’t unconditionally good for humans. Oxygen is essential for human survival, but breathing 100% pure oxygen causes oxygen toxicity—respiratory distress, lung damage, and such. Purifying power worked the same way.
Normally, humans are like half-seasoned, half-fried chicken: a balanced mix of good and evil. That’s what makes them “ordinary.” Completely good or completely evil humans are rare outliers. Like “saints.”
Thus, a human soul needs a proper balance of good and evil. Rarely is it exactly fifty-fifty. More like sixty percent good, forty percent evil. Or forty good, sixty evil. Complicated like that.
So.
For someone like me, an outlier, it might be fine. But for El, if the Sequoia Forest spirit shared an overflowing amount of purifying power, the “evil” part of her soul would simply peel away. In other words, part of El’s soul would vanish entirely.
-Sha sha….
But just for a moment should be okay. The instant the mirror let go, I’d retrieve the purifying power. I nodded, and the Sequoia Forest spirit circled above El’s head. Then, sparkling green light scattered, and purifying power began settling into El’s body.
-Ziiing…!
The mirror started vibrating faintly. Its rippling surface shuddered, creating ripples, and El’s body began to shift. I pulled harder. From shoulder to elbow, elbow to arm, arm to wrist….
-Ulch!
Finally, her hand! As it emerged, the recoil sent us tumbling across the floor. After rolling, I snatched the fallen dagger and sliced El’s wrist vertically. Deep enough to hit the veins. Blood surged up with a gurgle, faintly glowing. Thanks to the Sequoia Forest spirit’s purifying power. I planted a White Disidia seed into the wound. Then, using [Forest's Breath], the White Disidia began growing, absorbing the excess purifying power flooding El’s body.
“Ugh, uuuugh!”
El gritted her teeth and groaned at the pain of the White Disidia’s roots burrowing into her veins. I pinned her wrist firmly to keep her from thrashing and waited for it to grow. Once it sprouted lush leaves, its growth slowed. Confirming that, I cut the stem with the dagger, yanked the roots from her wrist, and healed the wound with [Wound Healing].
“El, you okay?”
“…Yeah.”
El nodded, face twisted in pain. Still, she endured well. An ordinary person would have passed out from the agony: once when receiving the purifying power, once when the White Disidia grew, and once when the roots were pulled. But El toughed it out magnificently. I pulled a handmade potion from my pouch and handed it to her, then stored the White Disidia in my subspace ring. Not to brag, but thanks to sucking up the Sequoia Forest spirit’s purifying power, it grew into exceptionally high-quality White Disidia….
“Sorry… it’s my fault….”
El hesitated, then bit her lip without finishing. I didn’t need to hear the rest to know what she meant.
“You did great, El.”
“…No way. I didn’t accomplish anything this time either.”
“What are you talking about? You found that mirror.”
“But I almost died because of it.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Why would you die?”
“…….”
“I said I’d watch over you.”
I patted her shoulder and stood. Fortunately, El got up fine without help. Her mental fortitude is impressive.
-Sha sha….
The Sequoia Forest spirit approached and perched on my shoulder. It eyed the mirror warily. I walked toward the mirror with it still on my shoulder.
-Sha sha sha.
“Thanks.”
Sensing what I intended, the Sequoia Forest spirit shared its purifying power. I wrapped it around me like armor and touched the mirror’s surface. Unlike when it rippled to devour El, now it hardened, repelling me.
“…….”
No choice, then.
“It’s fine now.”
-Sha sha?
“Yeah. Really.”
I nodded, and the spirit withdrew its power. I touched the mirror bare-handed again. It still firmly rejected me. I chuckled softly and muttered.
“Kookoo.”
Then, I felt the shadow hiding under my feet crawl up my body.
-Ugh, disgusting smell.
“Long time no see, and all you do is complain?”
“You only call me for stuff like this.”
“Better than not calling.”
I spread my hand, and Dimakushel’s shadow covered from fingertips to elbow. It enveloped my hand and arm like thin gloves. I thrust my blackened hand into the mirror.
-Ripple….
This time, the mirror accepted it without resistance. Unlike the hard clash before, it felt like dipping into water. I slowly groped inside. But all I felt was emptiness, nothing but void.
‘What the hell is this….’
Some kind of harmony? The mirror seemed to contain an endless expanse. If I tried, I could probably enter fully. I thought it might be like a subspace storage, but it felt entirely different. This didn’t seem like ordinary magic….
“…….”
I wouldn’t learn more without entering. But I couldn’t risk that. The moon was rising outside, and time was short. Regrettably, time to—
-Fwaaah!
…pull my hand out. That’s when something burrowed into my hand fast, like a baseball into a glove. Reflexively gripping it, I yanked my hand free. In my pitch-black, shadow-coated hand was….
‘…A box!’
A box gleaming black like obsidian, intricately carved on all sides. A familiar shape. I’d seen it before. Not exactly the same, but.
In Dehid.
In the Dawson couple’s mansion.
‘It’s the same type as those boxes.’