Void Princess's Gift #2
Void Princess's Gift #2
A tangible power floods through me.
It's suspicious, but it's clear Void Princess is in the middle of strengthening me. An unexpected turn like this... Well, you know what that means.
Shut up and take it.
—Poo-poo.
—Poooo.
That little punk Kitty... so this is why she brought the horn. I thought she was about to throw me into trouble empty-handed again, but she had all this prepared and even gave me proper congratulations.
Now I regret trying to stiff her with a workers' diner when she asked for omakase earlier. I actually feel bad. If I'd known this was coming, I'd have taken her to omakase.
Yeah.
We can just go together next time.
Let's go together, Kitty!
—Pooooo.
And so, with Kitty's horn echoing around me, I accepted Void Princess's work.
"Huff... huff..."
The longer it went on, the more my senses tangled, and a searing pain began to burn across my back. Still, it was bearable. More than that, her touch was gentler than I'd ever imagined.
Void Princess really was doing this properly, softly stroking my back.
And that too.
—Shwahaak!
She was using the treasures I'd brought back this time. So those were meant for me all along. Whatever VP may be, in this moment I'm nothing but grateful.
"A tattoo."
"...Excuse me?"
"Would a tattoo be acceptable?"
"No, that's... a bit much."
"Then we are finished."
—Flump.
My body, held aloft by telekinesis, dropped. So it's over. I caught my breath where I lay sprawled on the floor, checking my body's condition.
"Oh."
I'd just been through something deeply strange, but nothing was wrong. My senses had straightened out again. I got to my feet immediately and stood there perfectly fine.
"Esteemed VP. This is—"
"It is done. Now leave."
—Swish.
Her business finished, she turned away coolly and headed up the stairs.
I mean, I'd still like a bit of an explanation. She always cuts things off like a knife the second her part is done. The type who loses interest the moment it stops being amusing.
"Um, esteemed VP. Could I possibly ask just one question?"
"Huu."
—Flump.
When I pressed a little more persistently, VP went to sit on her throne and spoke, touching her forehead.
"Originally I had no particular desire to concern myself with you... but the matter has turned out this way. Well. Have you seen the Shebla?"
"Ah, yes. The white things, you mean."
"Considering the current trend, it seems they will soon appear on Earth as well."
"The Shebla, you mean?"
My first thought was: what's the problem? Those bastards were weak as hell. Plus they were all just lying there like they'd lost all will to fight.
Whether they show up or not doesn't really matter to me.
"They are an extension of the white monsters."
White monsters?
Ah.
The giant flying white centipede-like monsters I killed back when I saw Si-hoo's chest. I'd also witnessed a villain group cooperating with one out at sea. So those were of a similar lineage to the Shebla?
"Is that so? But they didn't seem all that dangerous... They were weak to begin with. I don't think a new monster species appearing will be much of a problem."
"Is thaaat so? You speak at length, so you must know the matter well. You may leave now."
—Swish-swish!
VP waved her hand and then turned her head away completely!
"Oh man!"
"Silence. This is my final warning."
"Yes...!"
"Many things exist in the world. From now on, those magic stones shall be of great help to you."
Magic stones will help?
"Could it be that what you just did...!"
She definitely said she opened my Blood Meridians!
Maybe this is what will let me use magic stones!
"You are quick on the uptake."
"Yes! It's not a power of Earth—could it be?!"
"A power of Earth, you say... Ah-ha! Ahahahahaha!"
Suddenly VP clutched her stomach and burst out laughing, stomping her feet against the floor.
"How could you superhumans' powers possibly be of Earth? When all of it is power that flowed in from another world?"
"Ah."
Slight slip of the tongue there.
Everyone knows that superhumans' powers flowed in from another world. Superhumans appeared alongside the monsters when the Dimension War broke out. The established conclusion is that, together with those unwelcome guests, a certain kind of power flowed in from another world.
"In the same way, the power just grafted into you is also of a 'different world.'"
"Ah."
It's still an otherworldly power, but this is something distinct from everyone else's.
"Well, once the Shebla start appearing, others who awaken the same power will eventually emerge, but for now you seem to be the only one."
I understood VP's meaning.
"You've given me the chance to get one step ahead, haven't you?"
"..."
VP stared at me.
"...I shall say this again."
I swallowed and listened.
"I have no desire to become entangled with you. You need only do what you must do. However, since things have turned out this way... I merely lent a little assistance."
—Snap.
"I have nothing more to say."
The moment VP snapped her fingers, Kitty's horn stopped. A gate opened behind me, and I was pushed backward.
And just like that, I returned home.
* * *
"Kitty. Did you know? That your sister was going to give me that kind of opportunity?"
When I went and asked, Kitty picked up her horn and smiled brightly.
"I told you, Rabies Big Bro. I wanted to congratulate you."
"Guh...! You adorable little punk!"
—Whoosh!
I scooped Kitty right up!
"Ah?"
—Squeeze!
And hugged her tight!
"Thanks for the congratulations, Kitty! I love the horn sound!"
"Uh. Uh. Uh. Rabies Big Brooo. If you hug and shake me like that it tickles."
"I'll treat you to omakase!"
"Omakase is the best!"
The moment I mentioned food, Kitty lit up and shouted with joy. Just seeing her like this, she was truly the picture of a little kid.
I hugged Kitty a bit longer, then set her down.
"Anyway, Rabies Big Bro."
"Yeah."
"You just have to do what you need to do."
"What I need to do... But what exactly is that, I wonder?"
"Sister said you'd know that best yourself, didn't she?"
Honestly, just how much does she know about my identity? I know I became linked to her in that ancient past, but the exact details are still completely unknown.
"Then, Rabies Big Bro. Kitty will be waiting for omakase."
With that, Kitty casually opened a drawer in the kitchen, completely naturally grabbed a cup ramen, and vanished.
—Poo-poo.
Leaving behind the sound of her horn.
"That little... tch."
Omakase, well, I'll treat her next time.
"Ah."
I stretched and opened the curtains.
"It's still early morning."
I'd stayed up all night in the otherworld. And despite even going to VP's place and back, I still had plenty of time left.
Shall I test out the new power, then?
"..."
I sat down and examined this unprecedented power I could feel.
"Hm."
Simply put, my body is in a state reinforced by mana.
My bones, muscles, blood, and organs are all saturated with mana, and I can now release it at will, whenever I choose.
My mana was originally pretty faint, but I inflated it through constant training and the power of stats. And through repeated training, I've learned to handle mana well.
Anyway, my body is strengthened by mana, and the mana not used for reinforcement is stored within my body, waiting for the day it'll be called upon. In my mental image, this stored mana is located in the solar plexus area.
Up to here, this applies to all superhumans.
"Alright."
I focused and tried to feel the new power that had filled my body.
It was... something different from mana. A foreign energy. If I had to name a difference from mana, this power felt like it was 'continuously' circulating through my blood vessels.
It hadn't seeped into my body, nor was it stored in my solar plexus. This power was literally coursing through every part of my blood vessels, circulating without pause.
What can I actually do with this?
VP said it was the power of a different otherworld. Above all, she said she intended to help me lightly, so it must have definite combat utility. If it didn't, she wouldn't have called it helping.
—Whap.
I got to my feet, took a fighting stance, and started shadowboxing.
—Whish-whish!
These punches are beyond anything an ordinary fighter can compare to.
They fire in rapid succession. Punches delivered at tremendous speed carry the extreme destructive power that truly defines a superhuman. As I threw the punches, I wrapped my fists with fist aura to boost their attack power.
And here.
This power coursing through my blood vessels. Since it flows through my blood, let's simply name it Blood Energy. I threw punch after punch while keeping that Blood Energy in my awareness.
"..."
The reason superhumans are strong isn't complicated.
It's because mana reinforces our muscles and bones. And by consuming mana as fuel, we can momentarily exert even more powerful force.
In other words, while supernatural, superhuman strength comes from reinforced muscles: the force that originates there, and the speed derived from that. It all comes from the hardness of the fist, and to deliver a greater blow, you have to expend the resource known as mana.
That's the realistic limitation.
So a superhuman throwing a hard punch isn't much different from using a pile driver that slams an enormous steel stake into the ground with heavy equipment and raw force.
Something strong and hard, driven in with overwhelming force by heavy equipment and fuel = a reinforced fist, driven in with overwhelming force by the power of mana.
A superhuman's strength generally works like that.
"Sword aura."
And sword aura.
Sword aura is useful for making a weapon sharper and strengthening its cutting power. And depending on your level, it lets you slice through even the hardest things like tofu. But its most critical use, naturally, is to tear through monsters' dimensional shields with ease.
Strictly speaking, you could say sword aura also feels similar to heavy equipment that eats fuel and generates tremendous power.
But this Blood Energy.
"This is..."
Something strange.
—Whish-whish!
Strange, and even beyond that—special. The definition of superhuman strength I'd just been chewing over. Supernatural but bound by realistic limitations. This is completely different from all of that.
—Thump.
The Blood Energy flowing through my entire body's blood vessels shifts toward my arm. I'm still awkward at using it, but one thing I could feel clearly: right now, this Blood Energy was adding destructive power to my punch.
A bizarre sensation.
It's not 'reinforcing' my fist—it's loading my fist with 'destructive power.'
"Hah...!"
It's a power I just obtained, and my level is still low, so I can't properly understand or explain it yet. But one thing I definitely feel: this is a very strange supernatural power. It doesn't matter how hard my fist is. Blood Energy doesn't make things strong—it destroys its target.
"I—!"
In fierce exultation, I shouted.
"Have gotten stronger...!"
Once I get used to this special power, its uses will be limitless! I judge that this synergizes extremely well with my own strength. Blood Energy destroys rather than reinforces. But I'm already in a state of mana-reinforcement.
When the two combine, it's blindingly obvious that my attack power will grow even greater. Whether it's monsters, monsterkin, or villains, I'll be able to smash them apart even more easily and simply!
"Overflowing strength! Infinite might! By this power, I shall become...!"
The strongest!