Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no 'Kokoro'-

Volume 4 Chapter 6.4

Into the Depths of the Pit Part 4

Translator : PolterGlast

"Phew......"

[Mumei]'s blade, which had been emitting light, became completely silent. Nozomu regulated his breathing and slowly sheathed it back to its scabbard.

The reflected spirit magic was shot into the waterway to avoid causing the inside of the reservoir to be destroyed by the pressure.

Instead, the waterway leading to the reservoir was pretty much destroyed, but Nozomu tried his best not to do any damage to it.

He then reached into his pouch and used medicine to stop the bleeding to the very minimum.

Meanwhile, Ken, whose entire body had been repeatedly slammed into the hard blocks, stared at Nozomu with eyes that seemed to see something unbelievable as he endured the pain that ran through his entire body.

Not yet, I haven't lost yet! He could not even accept the defeat that had been thrust upon him, and like a child throwing a tantrum, he tried to resist using his partner's power once again.

[Stop. I'm done~~!]

Then, however, Mefi unilaterally broke the assimilation.

The source elements that had been gathering dissipated, and Ken's face widened in surprise.

"Mefi?"

[A~a~, this all he got, huh~~? Well, I guess I was able to have fun for a change~~]

"What are you doing? Hurry up and reassimilate......."

[Like I said, I'm done. I'm done lending my power to a mere human.]

"A mere human? What the hell are you talking about!?"

Ken shouted, confused, and Mefi looked down at him with the most mocking eyes he had ever seen.

Ken gasped upon seeing her gaze as if she were looking at an insect writhing at her feet.

[Don't you get it? It's all a lie. A chosen special existence? Oh, come on. Well, if you meant it as a toy to pass the time, I'd say you were indeed chosen.]

"A toy ......?"

Suddenly, Mefi's figure glowed, and the little girl unraveled and transformed into another form.

A huge light blue insect with large compound eyes and a proboscis. The only thing it had in common with its previous form was its translucent wings. It was Mefi's original form that emerged from the Cracked-Crown Giant Centipede that Nozomu and his friends had seen a few weeks before.

"What's with that appearance......."

[What do you mean? This is my true form, you know? Even the humans over there knew about it.]

Ken was the only one who didn't know. *Crack* ...... and a fatal crack was carved into Ken's self-esteem, which already at its limit.

"Don't tell me....... This is a lie......."

[Now you get it, right? You don't have any special powers.]

Ken's knees gave out and he sat down on the spot.

Looking down at him, Mefi, who has returned to her little girl form, sneered at him again.

[I lent you my power because you had pure love. And I wanted to see how it would turn out. It was so funny to see how easily you became obsessed with your delusion and fell into depravity! Kyaha, hahahaha!]

Mefi's sneers echoed throughout the now quiet reservoir.

The sight of her betraying the person she had been with for nearly a decade and then innocently sneering at him was repulsive and, at the same time, extremely disgusting, partly because of the discrepancy from the innocent girl she had been until a moment before.

I can't listen to this any further. As Irisdina and the others were about to step in with frowns on their faces, Mefi pointed her right hand to the ceiling. There, a crimson sphere was suspended.

[Well, then, it's time to say goodbye.]

Nozomu recognized the sphere. It was the blood that Mefi had taken from Camilla.

What in the world is she up to? While Nozomu and the others were preparing themselves, the clots of blood were dissolving and fading away.

[This blood is very diluted, but nevertheless, it still contains the blood of a spirit. For us, it is the best medium. If we use it like this......]

Immediately after that, *shud!*, with a gut-wrenching vibration, some of the blocks on the floor shattered, and large amounts of water spurted out from multiple locations like a geyser.

At the same time, a rumbling noise reverberated from each of the canals leading to the reservoir.

"W-What's going on!?"

[I drew all the water in this area toward here. If you don't get out of here soon, you'll be swallowed, you know?]

With her doll-like face contorted hideously, Mefi quickly jumped into the canal where the loudest noise was coming from. Instantly, a huge volume of water rushed into the reservoir from the canal Mefi had jumped into.

"Whoa!"

Rampaging through the large reservoir, the water quickly reached knee-deep.

Furthermore, water began to pour in one after another from the other canals as well.

[Nozomu-kun, Irisdina-san, are you okay!?]

Finally, the communication with Shina was restored.

Perhaps Mefi's departure had gotten them out from under her interference.

"The spirit has escaped!"

"Also, we're being flooded at the reservoir! Is there an escape route somewhere!?"

While Nozomu and Irisdina screamed into their earrings, the water kept gaining momentum.

The water was already spewing out of all the canals, and Nozomu and the others had nowhere to run.

Considering the amount of water pouring in, it would not take long for this reservoir to fill up with water.

Just as the water was up to their knees, Jihad's voice came through the communication earring.

[Nozomu-kun, can you hear me? The spiral staircase of the reservoir leads to a passageway that connects to the water supply.

Get out through there!]

Everyone's eyes turned to the stairs on the inner wall of the reservoir.

"Up, let's go!"

"Feo, you take those two, and I'll take Lisa-kun!"

"Ah......."

Feo carried the two unconscious intruders from outside the city on his shoulders, and Irisdina grabbed Lisa's hand and started to drag her away.

"Hurry up, we don't have much time...... Oi Nozomu!?"

While Feo and Irisdina rushed toward the spiral staircase, Nozomu was heading in the opposite direction. Ahead of him was Ken, still on his knees and dazed.

"Ken, let's get out of here!"

"Eh......."

Why?

Ken looked at the outstretched hand as if he could not believe his eyes.

However, suddenly, a violent current of water swept into the reservoir and attacked them.

The two were instantly swallowed by the muddy waters.

"Nozomu!"

"Kuh!"

As Irisdina screamed, Nozomu desperately reached out toward Ken and managed to grab his hand.

"Hold on to this!"

Then, Irisdina sent a black chain woven with magic power toward him.

[Chain of Darkness]. Originally, it was a restraining magic to bind the opponent's movements with multiple chains. The ends of the dark chains entangled with Nozomu's arms, somehow supporting the two who were about to be swept away.

"Nozomu, hurry up and get out of the water! We don't have much time!"

"Guh!"

Irisdina was supporting the weight of two people. She, too, was nearing her limit.

Nozomu's consciousness was also waning from the pain in his wounded abdomen.

But even so, he still did not let Ken's hand go.

He had his reasons. He would never forgive Ken for what he had done. But he felt it was wrong to abandon him here.

On the other hand, Ken looked at Nozomu, who was desperately trying to save the man who had betrayed him, with a somewhat distant look in his eyes, and then he opened his mouth.

"Nozomu, I really hate you."

"Oh, yeah!? Sure, that's fine with me! But for now, give me a hand!"

"No thanks. I'd rather die than be saved by you......!"

Then he shook off Nozomu's hand with all his might. His face contorted in self-pity and the fear of death from which he could not escape.

And Ken, having lost his support, was swallowed by the raging current.

"Ken!"

Nozomu yelled, but it was too late. He had already been swept away into the depths of the dark canal.

"My hands, are already-......"

And Irisdina was also at her limit. Fatigue and impatience were eating away at her spirit and body, and the [Chain of Darkness] began to dissipate. Her grip began to weaken, and the magic that strengthened her body was slowly losing its effectiveness.

I cannot drag Irisdina into this mess because of my own selfishness. Nozomu silently put his blade against the [Chain of Darkness].

"Nozomu, what are you-...... stop!"

Irisdina, realizing his intention, let out a cry akin to a shriek. Her consciousness was distracted for a moment, and then the chain slipped from her hand.

(Crap......!)

At that moment, a hand from the side grabbed the [Chain of Darkness], which was about to disappear into the water, in the nick of time.

"Lisa-kun......."

It was Lisa who grabbed the [Chain of Darkness]. She yanked on the chain with all her might and pulled Nozomu up the stairs.

"Haa, haa, Lisa, thank you."

"Eh, yeah, umm......."

When Nozomu thanked Lisa for her help, she was involuntarily flustered. Because she knew that normally she would not be thanked.

"Guys, hurry up!"

Feo's words brought Nozomu and the others back to their senses, and they began rushing up the stairs.

While they were doing so, the water was accumulating at an ever-increasing rate.

When they reached the door at the top of the reservoir, Nozomu and the others kicked open the door and jumped straight into the connecting tunnel.

[At the end of the tunnel, there is an exit from the water supply to the surface. Hurry!]

Urged by Jihad's words, Nozomu and the others run through the tunnel.

"Jihad-sensei, what about the others!?"

[They've already escaped. You are the last ones!]

When they reached the upper canal, they found the ladder leading to the surface in the tunnel right next to it.

"Feo, you go up first and lift the lid, Iris, Lisa, sorry, but can you help me pull these two up!?"

"Got it!"

"Y-Yes......!"

Feo went ahead to open the lid and get on the surface. Irisdina and Lisa followed, carrying the two unconscious intruders on their backs, respectively, and began to climb the ladder.

[The reservoir is full, but the water keeps pouring in! Get to the surface now, the flash flood is coming!]

Just as Lisa handed over the intruder on her back to Feo, a report of imminent danger came in, causing Nozomu and the others to turn pale. If a volume of water that could fill that huge reservoir in a matter of minutes flooded this narrow tunnel, its force would be incomparable to before.

As Nozomu reflexively turned his eyes toward the tunnel they had come running from, *whoosh!*, a strong gust of wind blew out. Water was already rushing through the tunnel.

"Nozomu, you are the last one, hurry up!"

Even before Feo could finish his sentence, Nozomu already jumped on the ladder and started to climb up.

The wooden ladder creaked as he climbed each step. His heart was beating fast at the sound of the steps on which his hands and feet rested. There was still time. Four more steps and he would be on the surface.

"Whoa......!"

But just as he was about to reach the surface, tragedy struck. The ladder's support snapped with a loud snapping sound.

Perhaps it had rotted due to moisture. Furthermore, the mortar connecting the ladder to the inner wall peeled off due to the shock. Nozomu fell down the ladder into the canal.

"Nozomu!?"

"Ugh......."

To make matters worse, the wound in Nozomu's stomach, which had been sealed, was now completely open due to the impact.

Even as new blood spilled from his belly, Nozomu managed to jump to the remaining ladder, but the pain in his abdomen made him fall to his knees.

"Nozomu, don't move! I'm coming down now-......"

"Don't come! I'm not going to make it!"

In her impatience, Irisdina tried to descend into the canal again, but Nozomu's desperate voice stopped her from doing so.

Instantly after that, a flash flood spewed out from the connecting tunnel and swallowed Nozomu right in front of Irisdina and the others who were trying to save him.

End of Chapter 6

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