Chapter 180 - Let's Be Happy
I leaped with explosively improved physical abilities, closing the distance with Erin in a single bound.
The greatest mage in the other world was writhing, covering both eyes with her hands.
She was wide open; at this rate, any attack would land.
I grabbed that small body and slammed her against the ground with all my might.
Erin's fragile body wouldn't be able to withstand the impact.
I wondered if a sight that would make one want to avert their eyes, like a corpse crushed by a car, was spreading across the road—
As I fell, I looked at the ground.
However, I couldn't find Erin's corpse.
There was only a single right arm lying there.
"Heh."
I felt a sense of admiration, thinking she was doing better than expected.
It appeared that immediately after being grabbed by me, Erin had severed her own arm to create distance. It was just like a lizard dropping its tail. Thanks to that, she avoided having her entire body slammed into the ground, but she had become one-armed.
On top of that, she wasn't good at Recovery Magic.
Using the walls of the buildings as footholds, I jumped around in a zigzag pattern, searching for Erin.
—There she was.
Through my smartphone camera, the small mage was visible.
A floating figure with hollow eyes, bleeding profusely from her right shoulder.
I cast Dispel toward her. Erin's Concealment was undone, and she began to fall toward the ground.
She must have had her Flying magic undone along with it. My magic power has increased twentyfold. It seems that a single Dispel strips away every single buff to the roots.
I put my smartphone in my pocket.
Kicking off a building, I headed toward the falling Erin to catch her.
Faster than gravity could pull a human body, I arrived directly beneath Erin.
I extended both arms, getting into position to catch her small frame.
It was just like a protagonist going to receive a heroine falling from the sky.
To some, it might look like a fantastical scene, like the prologue to a boy-meets-girl story.
But I am trying to kill this woman.
I am trying to hold her because I intend to kill her.
Because Erin is the enemy of the world. Because she is hostile toward the humans of Earth. Because she is the enemy of the girls I am trying to protect.
Because if I don't kill this person, the women I love will die.
That is why I won't let her live.
I won't choose Erin.
I won't make a mistake with this choice. I won't choose the world; I will choose the people who care for me.
This choice is the right one, isn't it? I ask myself in my head.
There is no answer.
"...Hero..."
The moment she fell into my arms, Erin whispered. It was a peaceful voice, as if a weight had been lifted from her.
"Welcome back, Erin. ...Goodbye, Erin."
I embrace Erin.
Strongly, so strongly, as if I would never let her go again.
If I kept applying pressure like this, this thin, frail body would be compressed and crushed. It would end up as an ugly lump of flesh.
The remaining Fragmented Souls cannot use great magic. If I just take my time, I can surely subjugate them.
I will kill the greatest threat, my former comrade, with these hands.
I tightened my grip on my arms, snapping bones.
Erin coughed up a mass of blood.
Perhaps her internal organs were crushed.
"...The Hero is kind, after all..."
"What is?"
"...Even while holding me, you kill me..."
A dull crack sounded. It was the sound of a large bone breaking somewhere.
"I'm not kind. I'm killing you for my own convenience. But I think I've progressed more than I used to. ...The old me only thought about Elsa's happiness. But now, I live to make four women happy."
Blood sprayed from Erin's entire body.
Fresh blood flowed from her eyes, ears, nose, and every conceivable place.
"That's how it is. Die for their sake, too."
"..."
Erin said nothing.
Perhaps she no longer had the function to speak.
That was for the best.
Killing someone while feeling their humanity is the worst.
She should just shatter like a mere flesh doll.
"...Nothing has changed..."
"Huh?"
"...The number... has just... increased..."
"What do you mean?"
"...The Hero is as stupid as ever. ...The target... of your happiness... doesn't include... yourself..."
A squelching sound of flesh bursting occurred.
"...Will you kill me while crying, and then wish for someone's happiness? ...Just like before, you're still insane."
With those words, Erin passed away.
Becoming an ugly ball of meat, she vanished from the ground.
"...They're still remaining."
After burning away Erin's remains, I chanted Sacred Circle.
With twenty times the usual output—the strength of the barrier was twenty times greater, and the range was expanded to approximately six kilometers.
From the upper right of my field of vision, messages appeared one after another, showing the small animals that were Erin's Fragmented Souls dying.
They must have gathered nearby to support Erin's main body.
"...One, two... Elsa, show them all without leaving any out. Can you do it?"
[19 of Erin's Fragmented Souls have died]
[211 of Erin's Fragmented Souls have died]
[402 of Erin's Fragmented Souls have died]
While keeping the barrier deployed, I ran all over the place.
I sprinted with enough momentum to circle the entire city.
Every time I did, the remaining Fragmented Souls of Erin were blown away and died.
[569 of Erin's Fragmented Souls have died]
And, with that, the death messages stopped appearing.
Including those I defeated at the port and the studio, did I finish them all off?
...Even if there were survivors, they would be negligible as a fighting force.
The duration of my Fatherhood skill had also run out.
"Let's go home."
I turned on my heel and returned to the TV station.
I threw my blood-stained clothes into the sea on the way.
＊ ＊ ＊
When I returned to the station, it was no longer a matter of recording a program.
Producer Kurosawa pressed me, saying, "That's why I was against it," trying to make me take all the responsibility.
My answer was just one sentence.
"Please do so."
The next morning.
Partly out of apathy and partly out of curiosity, I peeked at the newspapers to see how it was being reported, and it said that I, having been attacked in the studio during a live broadcast, had fought a foreign terrorist and emerged victorious.
Erin was treated as a female terrorist who flew using small drones.
Sugitani-san or someone must have been considerate enough to manipulate the information, but I felt this was a bit of a stretch.
On the internet, some people wrote, "Wasn't Nakamoto just swinging a can of beer around and splashing it on butterflies this time?" but once photos of me walking through the streets covered in blood were uploaded, they went silent.
The program was decided to continue broadcasting after that.
It seemed several girls left the show because this incident became a trauma for them, but it didn't seem to have much of an impact.
In the first place, this program was prepared by Sugitani-san to provide me with work and women (no wonder there are so many performers in their late teens or early twenties); it was "Sponsored by: State Power."
No matter what happens, it remains immovable.
"State power is amazing. They can do anything."
I stood on the balcony and gazed at the scenery outside.
According to Rio, "It was intense during the nuclear accident, too." It seemed that TV stations, which should always have completely different opinions, all became monochromatic with "There are no problems."
I wasn't there in real-time since I was in the other world at that time, but the news censorship in this country seems surprisingly strong.
"...Anyway, how long is Rio going to stay at my place?"
"Is it bad if I'm here?"
I heard a complaint from behind me.
She has completely settled in as the fourth housemate, but does she have no intention of going home?
I thought about returning her to the Saito Household once the task of luring Erin was finished, but... she has completely moved in...
"Meow."
While I was worrying about what to do with Rio, a single black cat jumped down.
It landed skillfully on the balcony railing and looked at me.
"Meow."
My eyes met its large yellow eyes.
"Where did you come from?"
"Meow."
"..."
Was it my imagination?
There was a sense that was somehow different from a normal cat.
As if I could faintly sense intelligence...
"No way."
I instinctively muttered, "Status Open."
[Name] Erin
[Level] 2
[Class] Black Cat
[HP] 40
[MP] 120
[Attack] 25
[Defense] 20
[Agility] 140
[Magic Attack] 120
[Magic Defense] 110
[Skill] Night Vision
[Remarks] The last survivor of Erin's Fragmented Souls. In a state of mild malnutrition.
I reached out my hand toward Erin's remains.
"...Do you want to be my kid?"
"Meow."
"You can't do anything in that form. ...It looks like you can't even use magic."
"Meoooow."
The black cat licked my finger while tears fell from both its eyes.
"If you don't hurt anyone, I won't get angry either. Right? You're hungry, aren't you?"
"Meowww—"
The cat curled its tail and rubbed its face against the back of my hand.
"Even if you are what's left of her, I think I'll be happy if I can keep you. It's much more joyful than you dying."
"...Meow."
Erin gave a small jump and dove into my chest.
"Oh, there, there."
I went back inside from the balcony and closed the window.
I reported to everyone in the living room, "I decided to keep this one."
"Eh? Why so suddenly? Don't tell me that thing is Erin?"
"Is that Erin-san?"
"...It's definitely Erin-san, right?"
"A-uu."
...Except for Philia, who has lost her sanity, everyone has realized her identity.
Why are my actions so transparent?
"Is that thing going to do bad things? Is it okay?"
"It can't do anything in the form of a cat. Since the main body is dead, it probably won't be supplied with any decent magic power."
"Then isn't it fine?" Rio said with little interest.
As for Philia, she was stroking Erin's head while calling out in a lisping voice, "Kitty, kitty." I wonder if she can sense that she's a former Party Member even in this state of unclear consciousness?
"The family has grown again."
I smile as I watch the girls playing harmoniously with Erin.
How is it, Erin? Am I still the same as before?
We both sustained wounds, and even your appearance has changed completely, but we've pulled in a somewhat happy ending, haven't we?
I won't remain a failed Hero forever.
The long Chapter Five is over.