The Sound of Something Breaking

...... "Elsia?"

Forgetting we were even in the middle of a fight, I stood there frozen and shifted my gaze to her. Elsia had taken the chairman's attack in my place, gone flying into the wall, and slammed against it with a sickening thud. She didn't let out a single death cry. She simply crumpled to the ground, powerless.

My mind refused to process it. None of this felt real.

"Elsia?"

Elsia had gotten hurt because of me. Because I had hesitated like an idiot, the chairman was able to counterattack. It was such a trivial, insignificant, utterly stupid mistake. And the price for my foolish error had been paid by Elsia instead.

On top of that, her abilities were currently sealed. In other words, she had taken that terrifying strike with nothing but her bare body. Even blocking with a weapon might not have been enough. Yet despite having no powers at all, for my sake, without the slightest hesitation, she had thrown her delicate frame into the path of that attack.

"Elsia."

I called her name again. It was also a small prayer. It'll be fine. There won't be any problems. No. It absolutely had to be fine.

"...Elsia."

Muttering her name once more, I checked her condition. Elsia lay there with her eyes closed and a faint smile on her lips. The stomach of her doll outfit had burst open, and all the snacks inside had been crushed and scattered. The one saving grace was that her body was buried beneath the pile of snacks, hidden from view. So it should be okay. The snacks must have acted as a cushion. She'd get up without a problem. She definitely couldn't be badly hurt. Any second now she'd whine 'It hurts!!!' with tears glistening in her eyes. It had to happen that way. I desperately wanted to believe it would.

......

Elsia had always been a walking disaster, even by objective standards. During so many incidents she'd made my heart skip with worry more times than I could count. But.

She had never once left my side. She had stayed with me through everything. She had never betrayed me and had believed in me until the very end. Without a shred of doubt.

She had plenty of quirky, airheaded moments, but she had always been on my side. Even if I tried to hate her, I couldn't. That kind of money? I could give her as much as she wanted. I could always earn more. The food I was planning to eat? If she wanted it, I could give it to her over and over. Even if I went hungry, seeing her happy face made it worth it.

I would do anything Elsia wanted. If necessary, I would risk my life for her. So I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just prayed she was safe.

At the same time, a storm of thoughts swirled through my head. Inconsistent, foolish thoughts that only wished for her to be okay.

She didn't die, right? It was with her bare body. What if she's badly hurt? I need to get her to the infirmary right now. How many are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠still left outside? Where was the nearest hospital? What emergency measures should I take? Wait, would any of that even help? Will she be okay? Elsia, you're going to jump up and say this was a surprise, right? You'll get up for me, won't you? This isn't funny so please stop joking around. Please. You can't die. Please don't die. Elsia. Please. Please. I'm begging you.

Strength had left my hands. My legs were shaking so violently that simply staying upright was an achievement, never mind walking over to her. Maybe the arm really was broken; I no longer felt any pain from my left side. It felt like all the words I couldn't say were choking my throat.

At that moment, the chairman let out a sneer. As if I were truly pathetic.

"What a stupid bitch! What could a mere woman possibly block with?!"

"......"

I couldn't respond at all. Truthfully, I didn't even hear him. Right now my mind was occupied with nothing but Elsia's condition. My eyes never left her for a single second. I had to confirm with my own two eyes that she was okay.

When I showed no reaction, the chairman started yapping again.

"Was that bitch your personal fucktoy? Too bad. Thanks to you, she's a corpse now."

"......"

"If you want to make thorough use of her even now, why don't you stick that toy on my dick! Maybe then you could actually win?"

"......"

Whether he spoke or not, I remained motionless, staring at Elsia. Hoping she would soon be perfectly fine and stand back up. But my wish.

Unfortunately, it vanished helplessly like a candle flame in the wind.

A liquid began flowing from between the torn edges of Elsia's doll outfit, soaking the fabric and the floor beneath her. Even under the dim lighting, it was unmistakable. Red liquid.

Then the chairman suddenly started clapping. Another round of mockery.

"Congratulations! You killed that bitch! It's all because you're so pathetically weak!"

"......"

"Well, seeing her rush in alone and get herself killed, I figured she'd drop fast."

At that moment.

Somewhere deep inside my head.

I heard the sound of something snapping.

The chairman was in an exceptionally good mood right now. Of course, the man he'd been facing until a moment ago had been quite troublesome. His technique was polished, his transitions between offense and defense were lightning fast, and the timing of his strikes had been viciously sharp. For someone using an unfamiliar weapon, he had been dangerously competent.

That was why today ranked among the most nerve-wracking days of the chairman's entire life. Just remembering that knee smashing into his face at the last second still sent a chill down his spine. Even back when he belonged to the ability-user suppression team, he had never felt this anxious.

It was a good thing the last animal-lover member had used regression to peek at the future. Otherwise he wouldn't have gone for a direct confrontation like this.

The man seemed extremely accustomed to fighting people. But that was all. No matter how well he fought, he clearly wasn't used to murder. Still clumsy, just as you'd expect from an academy student.

The proof was how he had hesitated every single time he tried to land a fatal blow. That was definitely because he wasn't accustomed to taking a life.

Hunters and academy students might practice taking lives through the dueling arena system, but actually killing someone was a completely different matter. The weight of stealing a life wasn't something easily carried.

If he had been used to murder, he would have driven his sword into a vital point without hesitation. The outcome would have been decided instantly.

No matter how generously you evaluate him, he's still just a brat.

On top of that, a woman had suddenly barged in and taken the kick meant for the man. The sensation of something crushing and bursting at the tip of his foot. From experience, that was at minimum a serious injury requiring emergency surgery. Most likely fatal.

One glance was enough to confirm she was almost certainly dead. As a result, the man now stood there blankly staring at the collapsed woman, unable to respond to a single word.

At first the sudden variable had annoyed him, but seeing the man's state ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quickly improved his mood. Not being used to death must have made him lose his mind like that.

Well, it makes my job easier, so how wonderful is that.

Anyway, once he killed the man in front of him, the rest of the bitches were nothing. The red-haired one who was still holding out against all those numbers was slightly concerning, but she was clearly starting to tire. He thought he'd seen her on the high-risk list once, but since she couldn't use her abilities now, there was no longer any issue.

Meanwhile, the horse that had been dyed pink earlier had already reverted to black. The sight made the chairman grind his teeth without realizing it.

Having to dye it again is such a hassle. Sure enough, it was just overpriced cheap dye.

Still, the chairman decided to accept it as part of the process. Married couples were beings who learned about each other while living together, after all. He conveniently rationalized that this too was a trial necessary for a happy married life.

Meanwhile, he moved behind the still-dazed man and raised the baseball bat high. It was time to end this long battle and begin his happy married life with the horse.

Then, suddenly, he shuddered at the thought of variables that could still arise. The opponent before him had been dangerous in so many ways.

To eliminate even that possibility, the chairman decided to regress. For some unknown reason, he could still regress even while his nullification ability was active. It was a strange phenomenon, but he didn't bother questioning it. For him, anything that provided an advantage wasn't a loss.

Just in case. He might come at me in desperation.

To remove even the final possibility, he peeked into the future through regression. In that future, all he saw was himself swinging the baseball bat at the man's head. It was an extremely short glimpse, but there was no problem. Until the very last moment, the man had done nothing and simply stood there. He had clearly lost the will to live.

How pathetic, getting broken by something like that. This is why academy students are...

Having experienced that certain future, he returned to the present. Perhaps empowered by that certainty, even more strength flowed into the hand gripping the baseball bat. Showing a final mockery that could barely be called mercy, he spoke briefly.

"Die."

The bat came crashing down fiercely toward the man's head. Even at that moment, the man still hadn't moved. The exact same scene as the future before regression. Thinking it was over, the chairman cheered inwardly.

And the instant the bat met the man's skull.

There was an intense bursting sound as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it exploded. The baseball bat, that is.

The man's head remained completely unscathed, looking perfectly fine. This time, the chairman couldn't hide his shock.

...Fuck, it bursts? A human head withstood that?

Still, he quickly regained his composure. There had been no problem until now. He simply blamed the regression ability for only being able to see such short futures.

It's versatile, but the shortness is the problem. How nice it would be if it lasted as long as that member's.

This time he loaded his fist, intending to shatter the body. The abnormal durability seemed limited to the head anyway.

Even so, a bare body can't endure it. I'll send you to the same place as that bitch.

However.

Between the flying fragments of the shattered baseball bat, the moment he saw the man's hollow eyes staring blankly at him.

The chairman realized that something had gone very, very wrong.