Chapter 128

Yokohama, who willingly chose to die

She resides within the scalpel, using the identity of the will awakened by the scalpel to gain the absolute trust of Mori Ōgai.

A pure AI that loves no one and only seeks to exploit others, much like the legendary sword cultivator who practices the path of ruthlessness.

Sword cultivators' wives are their swords. They love their swords dearly, which fight alongside them and spend their lives with them. The sword spirits that emerge from these swords often evoke feelings of devotion that bind them to each other for life.

The data fluid, who doesn't understand human nature but loves reading, has a vague understanding of things. He carries out his mission and watches as the target extends the knife towards the old leader.

It suddenly dawned on it.

Right, if you don't trust anyone, then you're not human, are you?

The period of being protected was agonizingly endured. Seizing a fleeting loophole, altering one's perception, and constructing an identity, it became one of Mori Ōgai's weapons...

A scalpel that can be replaced at any time.

Would a superhuman's weapon really be a small knife that can be easily broken? That's ridiculous.

Placed in the midst of a scheme, this scalpel, already immersed in its role, erupted in utter fury.

It broke free from Mori Ougai's control and, under everyone's gaze, directed its murderous intent toward the culprit.

In the hands of a skilled person, a small scalpel is highly concealed and flexible; with a gentle slit, it can leave a bloody cut in the flesh.

Moreover, it was an angry collision after breaking free from the enormous and burdensome human race.

Unsurprisingly.

"Master—!" The panicked cry failed to connect with his protection.

The winter tree broke it, and at the same time—

Fresh blood gushed out from the cracks in the flesh.

She raised her trembling fingers, then covered them again forcefully.

The intense pain kept coming, but the brain ignored the pain of the skin on the finger coming into contact with the wound.

She had nothing to stop the bleeding, so she could only try to stop it with her own hands, clumsily and helplessly.

No matter how hard she tried, bright red liquid still gushed out from between her fingers, completely staining her vision red.

...The smell of rust is awful.

She blinked hard, forcing back all the tears that were about to spill.

The wound was deep, running straight through the entire slender arm.

She didn't know how she managed to crush the scalpel with her hand, which was attached to her injured arm, despite her severe injuries.

All she knew was that...

She was in so much pain... but no one came to comfort her, hug her, or even just stay with her.

Fuyuki messed everything up again.

Just a moment ago, I was still basking in the joy of finding a solution.

The next second, all the stability she had left behind vanished.

She was a little tired.

You mustn't cry.

This isn't the time to whine or show weakness; tears won't help... and might even make you feel exhausted...

"It's okay," she heard a familiar voice reassuring her.

"It's okay, he's still alive."

The winter trees bow their heads.

Her lips opened and closed... She was alive.

so.

Stop trying to comfort me.

Even I would find it a bit awkward...

The scalpel made a final desperate charge, its sharp blade piercing through Yamato no Kami Yasusada's instantly transparent body and plunging deep into her arm.

Dongshu gripped it tightly, trying to cover the flesh with his own flesh.

However, the pain caused the muscles to contract, and the fingers were only trying to help the blood flow out in vain.

The wound is too deep and too big.

She couldn't stop it.

not enough.

Where is the medicine?

What can help her...?

Stability...stability...

She felt uneasy.

Stability is gone.

He vanished right before her eyes.

As the scalpel shattered, Mori Ougai, Alice, Nakajima Atsushi, and... Yamato no Kami Yasusada all vanished.

There was no time to hesitate.

They left her nothing.

In the empty space, there was only her kneeling on the ground.

Perhaps the plane below can not even be considered the ground.

Because there's nothing here.

Even she herself didn't have it.

This space, which had been so hard to find, was destroyed by her own arrogance.

She broke her own knife.

The first knife she forged herself was broken by herself.

It wasn't because of the enemy, nor because of the battlefield...

It's not because of the seemingly harmless Saniwa (Master of the Saniwa).

The Saniwa killed the god.

Such thoughts kept flashing through my mind.

Fuyuki's expression grew even more desolate. She gradually lost sight of herself, and soon, even her last vestige of existence, this consciousness, would completely vanish.

The crime is unforgivable.

From the void, a deep blue light silently drifted toward them.

However, they were blocked by an invisible force.

They were even intimidated and stood still.

"Don't cry, don't cry, you don't want Ichigoni to rush over now, do you? I can't hold him back any longer—" A soft child's voice rang in my ears.

"......"

The winter trees are silent.

The pain of her arm being pierced kept her brain in a state of intense agony and grief, preventing her from processing the collapse that was originating from her body.

Her fingers gradually lost strength, and the spiritual energy within her body flowed slowly. It then adhered to the wound, invading through the broken skin and transforming into needles and thread to stitch the broken cells together bit by bit.

This body is not that of an ordinary human; no matter what is broken, if one has enough strength, it can be pieced back together.

"I didn't cry."

After a long silence, she finally spoke up to deny that statement.

"Huh? Hmm, you didn't cry."

"Aren't you worried at all? The world has already gotten to this point." Fuyuki was confused, and she could only seek help from herself.

An incomplete soul cannot see everything.

As one-third of the original body, she is like her, yet unlike her.

Compared to Fuyuki, who has completely regained her memories, she at this moment is more like a young girl who has seen her memories but is in a state of amnesia.

“Uncle Sen isn’t that stupid.” The main body sighed and shook her head. “He was the one who lured you to do this. How could he possibly offer a sacrifice that isn’t the optimal solution?”

She said with a grin:

"He's just getting back at me."

It's alright to retaliate against the entity that has repeatedly thwarted him with something insignificant; it won't affect the overall situation anyway, so what's wrong with doing it?

That incredibly intelligent man would never do anything absurd or foolish.

Fuyuki blinked, the pain gradually subsiding: "I understand."

They are all one entity; once you grasp the concept, you'll understand.

Blood was still on his arm, but his body had become much more solidified, and his entire arm had turned red, which looked horrifying.

On the other side, unseen by her, the true form helplessly dragged along the enraged Ichigo Hitofuri.

No, that won't do...

She closed her dark eyes.

If I were to get hurt, it wouldn't matter at all. A small scalpel piercing through me is hardly something to grieve over.

It's just that as only one-third of myself, I'm not complete enough.

...

Winter Tree takes a deep breath.

Now, let her guess where Uncle Sen buried his optimal solution.

What was the purpose of having her break the scalpel? To destroy this void? That's too simplistic.

She initially thought it was because the scalpel and the data fluids were of the same kind, and that feeling of being pulled was perhaps due to multi-body symbiosis; once the scalpel shattered, this would be a completely safe space.

The "safe space" that a scalpel actively leads a loved one into can hardly be a place of endless battle.

Will they fight on their own until they are exhausted and killed by their own kind?

How could a data fluid that came for the love of those destined for good fortune be so foolish?

Death, that is not what Mori Ōgai needs.

They live on, continuously taking away fortune, until the world is depleted and completely occupied.

Fuyuki touched the ground and watched as her fingers pierced through what should have been a solid object, yet her feet remained firmly planted beneath.

Something's missing.

Uncle Sen.

Mori Ōgai.

She took a deep breath.

Leader Mori.

What exactly do you want to do?

Even Alice wasn't told.

Her friends, genuine friendship.

So it's a secret, a secret that she needs to uncover herself.

...Data, blades, supernatural abilities...

What is missing from this world?

Almost... the world?

Dongshu raised her hands, her two hands stained red with blood, looking disheveled and pitiful. She paused in mid-air, then slowly put her hands together again.

A devout girl, recognized by the world and the city, stands in the void of everything, calling out to all those who indulge themselves.

--I'm here.

Yokohama,

I'm here,

I'm here......

No call to action can be put to an end.

The identity card, now seamlessly integrated with the present moment, breaks and mends itself, its cracks widening little by little.

It's okay.

That doesn't mean you're the one who's liked.

I've been waiting for this for so long.

From the very beginning of that journey, I was already looking forward to your arrival.

Once again, I recognize the children I acknowledge within my own body.

My favorite visitor from another world.

Did you enjoy your stay?

Do you hate me?

So hurt, so lost.

But there was nothing they could do.

The world's responsibilities do not belong to you; they are merely something that the capricious world and cities depend on.

Tears flowed again and again, she was forced to suffer again and again, and she couldn't even exercise her right as a child to cry out loud.

--Um.

Do you hate me now?

--Um,

I hate you.

An endless loneliness howled in the winter tree's ears.

I hate that you do nothing, say nothing, and keep everything a secret.

You can call it that. It's always been there. Why didn't you tell me? Why did you pretend it was dead?

Throughout Yokohama, He gazed intently at Fuyuki's face, which could only be barely seen in countless spaces.

He said, “Because I am indeed dead.”

He has always watched over the child, but He cannot go to Fuyuki's side. A catastrophe is about to befall the world, and a conspiracy against the world is quietly unfolding. By the time they fully realize what is happening, it is too late to eradicate it.

The only solution is to break it down and rebuild it.

Even if it's excruciating pain, it doesn't matter.

"Little winter tree, you are our foundation," He said softly. "Little forest, you've noticed too, haven't you? So mischievous, teasing you like that."

"Little Winter Tree, don't be afraid. I'm sorry I frightened you. It must have been terrifying to call out to you again and again without getting a response..."

His body stretched out, and the city, which had long since lost its shape, was driven away by the world bit by bit, and the lingering threads of its connection were patiently severed one by one.

Yokohama was the epicenter of the invasion.

It was also He Himself who proposed the reshaping of death.

His...rebirth.

The city, riddled with holes yet still valued by everyone, turned its attention to a child who didn't belong to this world. Even if she was a new version of Him, He thought He would surely fall in love with her again.

He closed his eyes... Perhaps this dilapidated little winter tree wasn't dazzling enough.

However, even a complete star never completely takes its gaze away from itself.

The pure life that always looked upon all the worlds that bore responsibility was not only treasured by her mother.

So many people love her.

"I'm so glad you thought of me in your final moments. It's an honor. I love you, my lovely little Fuyuki."

"We all love you."

I'm so sorry you got hurt...

As the last thread was stripped away, the world consciousness, exhausted and paralyzed, stood still, panting heavily. It looked at the elder who had accompanied it, feeling regretful and powerless.

For some reason, the other person's strongest attachment to the world suddenly loosened and became fragile.

For reasons unknown, the world consciousness could only close its eyes tightly.

He did not want to see the other party willingly being wiped out by the law.

He was in a terrible state.

Take a deep breath. Okay, it's okay, it's all over.

The little stray dog ​​got up, patted itself, and transformed back into the familiar little paper figure.

He stretched out his familiar body and rushed towards the aura of the winter tree, but in his bright eyes he instantly saw the blood-soaked girl frozen in the void.

"Eh...Eh—?!"

[Author's Note]

Little Stray Dog: Which bad guy treated my little Fuyuki like this?! (Cracked image)