Chapter 98: O-Rank Participation Record - 『Terminal Plague』 (3)
Chapter 98: O-Rank Participation Record - 『Terminal Plague』 (3)
“Hahaha! Tell ’em to keep coming, more! Our plague doctor here needs more people! Keep ’em coming!”
“I must say, I find the term ‘plague doctor’ a bit bothersome.”
“It’s better for drawing attention!”
Wielding his hammer and destroying everything in his path, the smiling Uncle rampaged as if he were truly having the time of his life.
His movements were incredibly straightforward and simple, showing he didn't doubt for a second that I might be lying or trying to deceive him.
True, I had asked him to gather people. I asked him to bring them to one place so they could hear me before it was too late. However, I hadn't meant for him to cause such a total disaster.
“What is wrong with that lunatic?!”
“Requesting backup! An Awakened is destroying the city and kidnapping people…”
“You guys shouldn't be wearing such stifling clothes either. Come over here. You need treatment.”
Riiip.
The sound that echoed in my ears wasn't the usual tearing of cloth I heard every day, but rather the sound of leather being shredded.
It came from the soldiers who had been holding guns, shooting the sick.
To avoid touching the ash, they wore thick clothing and helmets, but Uncle tore their gear away, exposing their bodies and allowing the infection to begin the moment they touched the ash.
“What are you doing?! Are you trying to kill us—?!”
“Enough. Calavera!”
“Couldn't we just knock the soldiers unconscious? I don't particularly enjoy controlling the living.”
“They killed victims who could have been cured, so shouldn't they suffer at least that much? Besides, if their own soldiers are mixed in, they won't suddenly start a bombardment.”
“Hmm. That is a surprisingly decent thought, coming from you. Carry on.”
As the tall man spoke and raised his hand, something translucent flowed out of the soldiers' mouths.
It was sucked into the white skull ornament hanging from his waist, and then...
“It’s a marvel every time I see it. You said that’s not mental-type magic?”
“How many times must I tell you? It is the subjugation of the soul.”
“And I’m telling you, how am I supposed to believe that when I can’t see the souls?”
“There is no point in explaining to one who does not believe. That is simply the nature of the soul.”
The soldiers joined the mass of people trailing behind the two men.
Everyone had had something white taken from them by Calavera, and they were moving according to his command.
Like dolls, they marched with expressionless faces, their footsteps falling in perfect rhythm. Thud. Thud.
“It is a relief that The Child informed us this is an emotion-based disease. Thanks to that, I can suppress it like this. I am glad to be of help.”
“I’ll admit it. I’m glad you’re here. Emotions, huh? How did she even know that?”
It was true. The two men before me were granting my wish in an incredibly destructive manner.
They demolished buildings to drag out those who refused to leave, and whether they were infected or not, they extracted what they called souls to suppress their reason.
Clearly, their actions were nothing short of violent. Even if this plague were successfully cured, they would likely be criticized and become objects of resentment.
They were already hated as Awakened, so wielding their power so recklessly to cause chaos was surely... a bad thing.
But. That was the power I had always wanted.
A power that could forcibly suppress those who tormented me and refused to acknowledge me, making them follow my words.
A bad power that could do good things.
“…I have something to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“Questions are always welcome. What do you wish to know?”
“Why don't you two live freely with that kind of power?”
I had heard many stories.
The group Uncle and Calavera belonged to. The Tomb of Awakened and soldiers who maintained the front lines, far away from this place.
Even when speaking of it, the two of them wore smiles, but I could feel it. They were suffering just like me, and they wanted to be helped. Deep down, they had embraced a sense of resignation—that crying out desperately for someone to save them was meaningless.
These people... they looked fine on the outside, but they were just like me.
“If it’s you, Uncle, you could go anywhere. And you, Calavera, you could rule people and make them move. So why…”
“Why am I ‘Uncle’ and he’s ‘Oppa’?”
“Probably because I look younger.”
“Bullshit. Anyone can see I’m younger.”
“Does it not simply mean that even that appearance cannot hide your internal decay?”
They started bickering again. They seemed to enjoy it.
“Please don't fight…”
Perhaps calmed by my words, the two began to ponder in silence.
“Ah. What was it? Why do we act as Awakened? Since we have the power?”
“No, wasn't it why we don't just end the story? Since we have the means to escape.”
“Hm? Is that so? But my story isn't ending. Maybe yours is.”
“I could run away, certainly.”
The two men continued to walk as they chatted. Destroying the city and increasing the number of people. Constantly debating to find an answer to my question.
“In the end, it’s this. If I step out now, someone else dies.”
“To summarize, yes. I feel much the same.”
“That’s how it is. I’m doing this because I don't want to see other kids die. Even if I’m cursed at and treated like trash, I just do it. Saying it out loud makes us sound like real idiots.”
“A prime example of what happens when the world's greatest fools possess great power. We are all idiots.”
The answer the two had discussed for so long was nothing special. It was just that they didn't want to see other people die. An absurdly simple answer.
It wasn't about justice, a grand mindset, or a sense of duty. It was a simple... just a wish.
I had expected something more, and I fell into an indescribable sense of self-loathing.
Could those two really be moved by such a thing, despite possessing power that far surpassed mine? If I had that same power... perhaps...
“But you’re the same, aren't you?”
“What?”
“Aren't you? You’ve lived your life covered in scars because you didn't want to see other people die.”
“….”
“Well, don't worry too much. Once this is over, we’ll take care of you somehow. We have a few ways to get you retired quickly.”
“That is confidential, Crimson★Hammer. The higher-ups are already forcibly conscripting because of the shortage of Awakened. If they find out we can facilitate early retirement…”
“Ah... was that so? Don't tell anyone else about this. It’s a secret. Anyway, you’ll be able to quit being an Awakened and live like a normal girl.”
Uncle said it with an nonchalant expression.
As if, despite such a thing existing, he was an unrelated stranger to it.
…But. What does ‘normal’ even mean?
Even as I thought, the work of gathering people continued.
* * *
“Looks like we’ve gathered most of them?”
“Ten thousand. It sounds easy when spoken, but it is a truly difficult number.”
“I think you’re more impressive for controlling all of them. Ten thousand. Even a mental-type specialist couldn't pull that off.”
“Even for me, it is pushing my capacity. It was only possible because the command was simply to follow us without thinking.”
The two men spoke as they looked down. A vacant lot packed with people. And us, standing atop the only remaining building in that lot.
The vacant lot, created by Uncle swinging his hammer to level the buildings, was stained gray with a thin layer of ash. The people also stood there with vacant expressions, their bodies smudged with gray.
Can I do it?
Until just a moment ago, looking at the two of them made me think everything would work out, but facing the crowd like this, fear welled up in my heart.
What if I fail again? What if I end up killing all these people? Fear began to consume my mind.
Tap.
What calmed my trembling emotions was...
“Can you do it?”
Uncle’s hand on my shoulder and his steady voice.
“…I have to.”
They had believed in me and come this far, so I had to repay them. Even if things went wrong.
“Then, I shall return the people's souls. Prepare yourself.”
“Yes!”
Clack. Clack.
The skulls at his waist chattered their teeth, and countless white wisps took flight into the air.
A wave of souls that turned the gray-stained sky back to white and washed the gray city in purity.
The souls, spreading beautifully in all directions, moved to find their owners standing beneath our feet.
“What is this?!”
“Why are we here?!”
“Help me! The infection…”
“Don't touch me! I’m not infected yet— Aaaaaagh!”
Chaos erupted.
The screams of thousands.
Voices filled with the fear of death.
The final breaths of the dying.
The struggle to live, even if it meant killing others.
A total pandemonium where all of it merged together.
It was harder than I expected.
“Please! Listen to me!”
I raised my voice to face the chaos, but the people wouldn't look my way.
It wasn't that they couldn't hear me. The two men had brought speakers from a military base for this very purpose. It was just that no one wanted to listen.
“Everyone. You can live. You can be cured! Please, listen to me!”
It can be fixed.
The moment those words spread, a brief silence blanketed the lot.
“It can be fixed…?”
“Aren't those the ones who dragged us here?”
“They’re the culprits! Kill them!”
Ten thousand gazes converged.
Surely. This number must be right. The maximum number... that I can heal.
At first, I thought it would be okay. I thought the people who tormented me had simply increased by dozens of times.
But I was wrong. Ten thousand... was on a different level.
Even without blizzards or violence, the sheer number was suffocating. Even so, behind me were people stronger than those ten thousand, protecting me. That was why.
“This is a disease that originated from my story… So! Please, listen to me. Hold each other’s hands. And pray. Believe that this disease can be cured…! If one person’s heart isn't enough, then gather everyone’s hearts together…”
Then, the healing would spread like a chain reaction. This was a disease that started from the heart.
If the majority could realize that, everything would be resolved.
If you cannot believe in recovery alone, then borrow the strength of the many…
“They’re going that far to say it…”
“Should we try?”
Was it because my words bothered them, or because everything was already at its worst? As a sliver of hope sprouted, the people didn't even realize the progression of the plague had slowed, and they began to listen. Slowly, they reached for each other’s hands for the sake of the cure.
“It seems things are going better than expected.”
“…It is too early to think that.”
Amidst the subsiding commotion, just as people were beginning to listen to my words.
“Don't give me that bullshit! Is that why you gathered us here? You’re that girl, aren't you? The bitch who gathered people on the first day saying she’d cure them, only to spread the infection even more?!”
That couldn't be. Those people were definitely cured and went home. The explosion of the infection was absolutely not my fault—
“No! Those people back then were definitely cured—”
“Don't say another word! You idiot!”
Uncle cut me off.
Why?
“That girl gathered the people?”
“Then gathering us now is also to spread the plague…”
“If they’ve been gathering people since the first day, aren't they the culprits?!”
The end had begun.
The end that started from my own words.
Now, the people could not trust me.
Even if those people had been cured, I was now the Awakened who had spread the plague, The Child who was The Root of it all.
Because the people I had treated had forgiven me. I thought everyone would be like that. Because they had felt my touch and found peace.
But these people were different.
The ash surged.
In the vacant lot where the last hope had vanished and people began to infect at an explosive rate. The ash surged.
Ash that was once human.
Stones were thrown toward the top of the building, accompanied by a deluge of vitriol.
The ash surged.
“…What should we do? Knock them all out?”
“First, we should evacuate Al’liv and find another way…”
Yes. Al’liv. My name. No, the designation I received as an Awakened.
I had already forgotten what my original name was.
“Uncle. Do you know the origin of my name?”
“What are you talking about at a time like this?”
Because it’s now. Because I want at least one person to remember my name.
“Lamia. Once a goddess. A once-noble goddess who devoured children.”
Therefore, I, who inherited that name, also have that right.
“From my blood—the blood of a child—the cure will begin.”
I cut my finger and let them drink the blood.
I tore my flesh and collected the blood.
My fragile face bled easily with just a scratch of a fingernail.
But now, it isn't enough.
“So. Everyone here can be cured.”
Because the people... are gathered here.
I bid farewell to Uncle and Calavera and threw myself toward the plaza. From the high place to the low.
The two reached out, but it was already too late. Perhaps it was because they hadn't expected me to do such a thing.
Uncle approached rapidly before my eyes, but it was already too late.
“You idiot!”
I must die for others to live.
Because I was born for that purpose.
One sacrifice for hundreds of thousands of people.
I am simply sacrificing myself, just like you, Uncle.
【Is that truly what you want?】
Time stretches.
My body hits the ground.
I feel that sensation and hear a voice, but it doesn't matter.
Because I am going to die now.