The Case of Being Reincarnated as a Heretic Mob Character in an Eroge Where Everyone is Extremely Determined - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: If it’s a contest of mental endurance, even an ordinary person like me has a chance to win!

I must keep my wits about me, because mental contamination progresses in the blink of an eye.

It’s bad to be passive in this abnormal situation. Just like when I came up with the mobile fortress plan, I must take action myself, or I will be completely painted over by the madness of the Heretics.

Unlike enduring physical pain, there is no way to resist direct mental contamination.

It’s hopeless. The influence of thought contamination prevented any brilliant ideas for breaking the current stalemate, but before I completely lost my sanity, I had no choice but to forcibly take back my heart.

Joanne has feelings for me. Moreover, she has no aversion to being hurt or hurting others.

I might be able to exploit the gap in her affections and tastes.

Hugging Joanne as if clinging to her, I smoothly pull out the knife I had hidden behind my back.

Then, swinging the knife behind me, I strike Joanne’s small back with the blade.

As if pressing down, I draw a circle of blood on Joanne’s back.

When I’m fully consumed by madness, I will surely become unable to hurt Joanne, and I’ll only be able to love her.

That’s why I have to take back my heart before I’m no longer myself.

The sensation of tearing through flesh and slipping through flesh transmitted to my hand.

However, Joanne, whose back flesh should have been gouged out and spine severed, did not even flinch.

She only showed a cute reaction, as if being tickled along her spine by her lover, twisting her body slightly.

With a light smile, Joanne tilted her head and questioned the true intent of my actions.

“What are you doing? Perhaps you’ve become eager for more exchange?”

Her demeanor was like that of a child tugging at someone’s sleeve.

The futile reality that the absolute difference between an ordinary Heretic and an Executive could not be overturned stood in my way.

As her words ended, the copious amount of blood that had spurted out seemed ridiculous as the wound closed up perfectly.

The flesh tightened, making it impossible to move or remove the knife.

The handle of the knife was now stuck as if it were growing out of her back.

The only evidence that her soft skin had been cut was the severed clothing and the blood scattered around the room.

With all my might, I tried to push the knife in by twisting it, but Joanne just observed my actions with interest.

“Haha, not going well? Let me do it.”

Joanne took my hand and pulled out the knife that was stuck.

Then, it was her turn to hold the blade. Mimicking my actions, Joanne wrapped around my waist and raised the knife.

The bloodstained tip threatened to slice open my back, but I managed to repel the knife away just in time.

“I don’t want to exchange. I want my heart back.”

The knife stood stuck in the ground.

Hearing those words, Joanne showed an exasperated reaction and cut off the conversation.

“I don’t want to. I have no intention of letting go of your heart.”

Her way of speaking was as adorable as a spoiled child, but her eyes harbored a strong will.

While the urge to grab her by the collar and yell was calmed by a personality correction, I somehow managed to regain my will to reclaim my heart.

“It’s not my intention to return things to their original place. However, it is true that the recent large-scale replacement experiment lacked a long-term perspective. What would you do if I died as a result of the exchange?”

“There is no problem in that regard.”

“What…”

“On the day of the experiment, I had pieces of our internal organs collected. It has already been proven that fusing the two cells and accelerating the physical time posed no issues.”

―Rapid physical growth through medication.

It is nothing but advancing the body’s time. Just as a baby can grow to the age of ten in a matter of days, so too was the experiment with the cells possible.

If she had been scattering my insides with that in mind, then Joanne must have had her sights set on my heart since that moment.

This woman she’s strangely rational and calculating at the weirdest times.

Utterly vile.

“Ah… it moved again. I quite like it, how easy to read your body is.”

Thump- thump-. Joanne’s writhing heart.

In contrast, inside Joanne’s body, it seems my stolen heart is suffering.

Right now, my reason for taking back Joanne’s heart is weak.

If Juanquiro and the Pork gang are willing to help with the mobile fortress plan, they would probably take the stance of letting those involved in romantic entanglements discuss and resolve it among themselves.

Since it’s been proven that there’s no actual physical harm, there’s a high chance that no one would listen if I spoke of the mental distress this causes me.

…Even if we talk about the negative mental effects, in my case, it’s the hereticization of the mind.

If Juanquiro digs around, it could lead to troublesome consequences.

Ultimately, I’ll have to come up with a compromise with Joanne.

(If Joanne is also experiencing mental muddiness, there might be a chance to exploit a weakness with my conscience…)

I glare at Joanne, but there’s no sign that she’s considering a change of heart.

Just as water once muddied never returns to clarity, perhaps her heart will never clear.

Just as I was coming to terms with Joanne’s lack of change, her spiral-shaped pupils doubled in a blur.

“Ugh…!?”

Joanne, clutching her head, crouches down, her small body trembling.

A clear rejection reaction. That reaction was similar to mine, captivated by Joanne’s chaos.

My heart and Joanne’s are as different as water and oil.

Confusion reigns as fundamentally different thought processes intervene.

However, her expression seemed somewhat happy.

“It’s coming again…! I didn’t understand it then, but this is your true feeling, isn’t it!? Ahaha, hahaha! Your heart is a complete mess!”

Next to her beaming smile, sweat poured down like a waterfall.

Joanne was clawing at her hair, screaming in agony.

It seemed her mind was also lost, uncertain of which way to go.

Would she be dyed in the same color as the man she adores?

Or maintain the spirit of the guru she worships? Her heart was greatly wavering.

I never thought that memory transfer could be effective on a human like Joanne.

As her thoughts invaded my mind, I suddenly began to wonder what would happen if I transplanted organs to all the Executives.

Seeing Joanne being influenced, it’s likely that most of the Executives would be affected by a memory transfer too.

However, Aaros, who seems to be able to control himself, is an exception.

That guy can brainwash himself.

If I just went through with the organ transplant, could I dye the heretical group with my thought processes?

If possible, I could see the incredible reversal of taking over the Aaros Temple Order.

However, there was a physical problem.

I didn’t have enough organs to distribute among the seven Executives.

As the saying goes, ‘five viscera and six entrails’, a normal human only has a dozen or so internal organs.

(TL/N: five viscera, referring to the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. Six entrails, referring to the gallbladder, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, bladder, and the ‘triple burner’; a concept unique to traditional Chinese medicine.)

The large and small intestines are too long to be practical, and other organs are affected by differences in body size and gender, so in reality, even fewer are transplantable.

Joanne ignored all these factors and unilaterally proceeded with a heart transplant.

Above all, the exchange consumes an incredible amount of physical strength.

There is also a very high risk of mental and physical abnormalities after the transplant.

It goes without saying that not doing it would be the wiser decision.

Moreover, whether memory transfer occurs is entirely up to chance.

It might have happened just because Joanne and I were compatible, or it could have been because the organ transplanted was the heart, a critical organ.

If asked whether I could dedicate my soul to an uncertain possibility, I would have no problem in terms of determination, but I couldn’t go through with something like this due to the lack of certainty.

Transferring organs to non-combatants like Juanquiro or the near-invincible Aaros would be pointless.

If one wants to keep a piece of flesh as insurance outside the body, it should be a part like a finger that can be easily attached and detached otherwise it would be inconvenient during transference.

Unless there’s a special reason or it’s for an experiment, exchanging internal organs would be impossible.

(Is my plan to scatter parts of myself unrealistic… Wait? What I should expect from memory transference isn’t the sharing of memories but the transference of personality. This is, in a sense, the same as brainwashing—! Isn’t there someone who needs to be brainwashed?)

That’s when it hits me.

—What if I exchanged organs with Celestia?

Her mind is in a state of brainwashing.

However, if by transplanting organs she could regain her former heart, then it might be possible to overwrite the brainwashing caused by memory transference.

The troubling issue is whether it’s okay to transplant my currently contaminated organs.

My body is now infiltrated with Joanne’s madness and principles of action.

The moment the recipient accepts the contaminated organ, it could lead to an irreversible situation.

(There are many problems. But it doesn’t mean my ambition has vanished. Either transplant my or an Orthodox Believer’s organs into Celestia or have Cress try to overwrite the brainwashing to restore her sanity. Having two methods is sufficient; an unexpected hope has emerged…)

The reason why Celestia and I would exchange organs could be anything.

Whether the mobile fortress plan is feasible even for the Orthodox Executive or anything else, there are countless things I want to know.

A revelation that almost drove me to madness, a discovery too immense for my powerless self to grasp, I involuntarily clenched my fist.

It’s the counterattack of the mobs born from the devilish act of the womb bag.

I won’t let you do as you please!

I will definitely kill you!

My raging spirit, furious with anger, overwrites Joanne’s madness.

Freed from deep despair, temporary control of my mind shifts to me.

“Joanne-sama”

“Ah, ahh… What is it?”

My heart pours into her, and Joanne begins to change.

She is the first person to accept my organs. The pain of the proclamation must be stirring her brain just as much.

A different neural circuit is needed to endure the pain, something that would immediately overwhelm a normal person.

“I have a suggestion.”

But Joanne is an Executive of the temple order.

Her mental fortitude far surpasses that of ordinary people’s imagination.

Like me, she should overcome mental confusion and quickly return to her original state of mind.

That’s Joanne Sagamix for you.

The most tenacious psycho woman in the heretical cult.

“Why don’t we exchange more?”

—Before saving Celestia, I’ll shut this woman up.

Let’s have a test of patience, Joanne!

Me and you, which one’s mind will go mad first!

Will my mind be dyed in Joanne’s color―

Or will Joanne’s mind be dyed in mine―

It’s a chicken race. Let’s have a showdown.

A drawn-out confrontation is boring.

Let’s exchange our insides.

Exchange and exchange—The first to be dyed loses.

“Is that alright with you, Oakley?”

“Yes.”

“To suddenly change your mind… I’m happy.”

I took Joanne’s hand and handed her the knife.

Joanne must have sensed my intentions.

She must have known that someone like me with a heart of justice that contradicts the heretical heart had infiltrated their ranks.

After looking back and forth between the knife and me, Joanne didn’t offer a smile mixed with love but rather revealed a grin brimming with fighting spirit.

—In a pure fight to the death, I wouldn’t stand a chance even if I stood on my head.

However, if it’s a contest of mental endurance, even an ordinary person like me has a chance to win.

“―Then, shall we begin, Oakley? I’m sure it’s going to be more depraved and pleasurable than anything else in this world.”

While being slashed in the abdomen by Joanne, I concentrated the still unsubsidized rage toward evil in my brain.