The Case of Being Reincarnated as a Heretic Mob Character in an Eroge Where Everyone is Extremely Determined - Chapter 40

Chapter 40: I Love You

The entwined bodies of the two, hands supporting each other, gazes intersecting at close range. Oakley and Joanne, melting into each other messily, finally managed to raise their bodies with great effort.

The sticky bodily fluids formed a bridge between them, drawing threads as if reluctant to part, then disappearing.

“…It seems the only parts left that could be exchanged are the skeleton and the head.”

Joanne muttered sadly as if lamenting the end of the act.

Her fingers traced the now completely cold skin of Oakley, who, despite being battered and bruised, responded faintly while suffering from severe anemia.

Coughing up blood and struggling to focus, he whispered in a voice hoarse from screaming.

“It’s a wonder of the human body.”

Why am I not dead?

How can I continue to face forward after enduring such horrific events?

While questioning himself, Oakley waited for his mind to recover, preparing for the next challenge.

―Two hours had passed since the party began.

Ever since a knife had been plunged into his abdomen, his insides had been exposed to the air.

The agony and confusion stirred into chaos, making everything he had experienced with his five senses seem like an unreal dream.

(Perhaps I’m already a madman… Well, whether I am or not doesn’t matter. I just need to keep moving forward.)

Normally, if one found themselves watching their own body being sliced open without even blinking, they would fall into a terrible panic.

Oakley had willingly subjected himself to such terror.

There were moments when he momentarily lost consciousness, but that was solely due to blood loss.

His spirit hadn’t broken, and it was merely a matter of reaching the physical limits of an ordinary person.

In fact, it was abnormal that he had managed to hold out this far.

The dialogue between Joanne and Oakley had entered its final stage, and they were on the brink of a decisive showdown.

Most of the organs that could be exchanged had been dealt with.

All the organs within the torso had been replaced, except for those specific to each gender, and everything else had been taken care of.

The other exceptions were organs close to the head, such as the brain and eyes, as well as difficult-to-separate and reattach parts like muscles and bones.

The latter was not much involved with memory transfer, and as for the head, it was a delicate area because there was a risk of death for Oakley.

He had already committed acts of grotesque cruelty that seemed beyond human, but considering his situation, there was nothing more to be done.

Joanne, who had never imagined that the match would be unresolved, slowly looked up at the ceiling.

“This is where it stops?”

The only thing in the room that isn’t dirty is the ceiling she looks up to.

Even the lamp that lights the room is blocked by fresh blood, and the walls are stained with a mottled pattern of varying shades.

The newly furnished bed is submerged in a bright red sea, and a large amount of blood undulates on the floor.

With every movement, ripples on the bood spread enough to send waves to the corners of the room.

“…I feel like I might die before this is settled.”

“That’s not okay. I’ve gone to the trouble of baring my skin for you, so try to hang in there a little longer.”

“Do you seriously want me to try any harder? Haha, you’re a terrible person… My vision is already blurring, and my hearing isn’t so good anymore.”

All that can be heard through the ringing in the ears caused by intense pain and mental confusion is Joanne’s faint breathing and her gentle voice.

Vision is dyed in white and black, and the numbing aftereffect makes it hard to speak clearly.

Amidst the pain of their egos and alter egos intertwining, both Oakley and Joanne were convinced that ‘the other’s spirit is about to break.’

They knew everything about each other and shared memories, so there were no more secrets to hide.

They understood all too well how much they cared for each other, having been flooded with that feeling.

The limit was near.

The premonition that the ending would be filled with mutual love had a sweet fragrance to it.

“Is it over already? I wanted to feel you more and more…”

With nothing left to exchange, Joanne, on the verge of exhaustion, pressed her lips to Oakley’s.

Driven by the impulse to give all her love, Joanne extended her tongue.

Love mingling in their mouth.

Clumsy and inexperienced, yet gentle and sweet, the girl’s caress, filled with a straightforward affection, melted Oakley’s heart into a sludge.

The sound of dripping blood mixed with the earnest girl’s breaths and voice dominated the room.

Their internal organs trembled, and the energy that resides in a human heart burned explosively.

“I love you—I really love you, Oakley… So give up already… Be dyed in my color, and let’s live together…?”

Pecking away, swallowing up, Joanne erodes Oakley’s spirit.

In addition to the invasion from within, she sets out to incapacitate Oakley by providing him with actual stimulation of affection towards her.

Yet, he did not break.

While holding the fragile body of the girl, he did not lose the core of his sanity at all, and above all, he did not lose sight of his insane determination and goals.

The mistake he made in the collapsing Metashim that day.

Just remembering it makes it hard to breathe——a fatal error he vowed never to repeat.

No matter how much he comes to love this girl—no matter how much he is manipulated into feeling so—he cannot overlook the numerous atrocities committed by the Aaros Temple Order.

They ruined Oakley’s life.

They implanted false family memories and toyed with his heart.

He was never given a fair choice in life, forced to devote himself to the cult.

Even after serving the cult, he was shackled by the fate of being ‘short-lived’ due to his origin from a womb bag.

Currently, Oakley has only about ten years of life left.

Moreover, there are many like Oakley, overflowing in the cult and the world.

Those forced to serve the cult from birth, those sold to become a source of funds, those deemed insufficient and turned into food for womb bags, those manipulated as puppets by Pork—if Oakley did not recall the memories of his past life, he would have been just another heretic, dying like trash.

Everyone involved with the womb bag or the cult is being blasphemed.

The Aaros Temple Order isn’t making anyone happy, are they?

They either kill innocent people or treat them as good as dead. It’s fair to say that they are not being granted proper human rights.

That fact burns with rage, anchoring Oakley’s consciousness.

At the edge, Oakley’s ego remains untainted.

“Why…? Why won’t you be dyed, Oakley? Even though I love you so much…!”

Joanne clings to Oakley, tears streaming down her face, unable to change the color of his eyes.

Oakley looks back at her with an unwavering gentle gaze. While her mind is being torn to shreds, Joanne wraps her arms around his neck and hugs him tightly.

The most intense moment was when they exchanged large intestines. The large intestine is full of nerve cells and capillaries.

Just as a bad stomach can make one feel downhearted, there is a deep connection between the large intestine and the brain.

When the exchange of the large intestine was completed, Oakley faced the most severe mental attack he had ever experienced.

It was a wave of high-purity affection from a beautiful young girl. Something like a mass of euphoria was poured into him, melting his brain and bringing his thoughts to a halt.

Enveloped in absolute pleasure and happiness, it is a promise of spending a lifetime with a beautiful girl that everyone envies.

Because of her love, she would accept everything he desires.

Mixed with the image of ‘having a happy family,’ a latent human craving, this image of bliss attacked Oakley’s ego more cunningly.

Think about it.

A beautiful girl who captivates everyone’s eyes—a beauty that no one in the world could ever possess—is saying she will stay with you for life.

Moreover, the decision for that future is left up to you.

Any normal person would stop and think, regardless of what landmines might be hidden.

About the possibilities of that future.

But, at this very moment—

Thinking positively was synonymous with defeat.

Because the moment one starts to think, they allocate resources in the brain—allowing the intrusion of another’s will through the imagination.

Oakley did not show even a hint of vulnerability to the image of euphoria.

He harbored no stray thoughts.

Literally, none at all.

Humans are weak creatures.

There are not many who can stay true to their initial resolve. They seek an outlet for their desires or turn away from their duties, seeking the easier path.

If fruit is within reach, at the very least, one tends to cast a glance.

Oakley possessed the strength to crush that fragile heart. While his thoughts spun rapidly, he abandoned the act of thinking.

It was a feat impossible for an ordinary person.

But Oakley managed to do it.

“Why are you so strong…?”

The words involuntarily spilled from her lips.

To Joanne, Oakley was an adorable entity.

If his head is severed, he dies, and he cannot regenerate from pieces of flesh. He can’t grow back lost parts, nor can he leap high with robust muscles.

To the mighty being Joanne, Oakley should have been nothing more than an object of protection and romantic affection—

Yet, he was far too strong.

Despite exposing his physical frailty as a living being, he stood in her way with a spirit so resilient that Joanne herself was filled with admiration and astonishment.

Joanne had come so close to the final push, yet she intuitively knew that his heart would never break.

Even if she implanted all of her memories, bestowed all of her emotions, and employed all of her expressions, there was an extreme, mad sanity that would never break.

It was sad. It was lonely. It was frustrating. She was conveying a love so intense, and he was responding to this love, yet there was an agonizing helplessness in a crucial aspect.

Joanne realized her defeat and cried like a child. She bawled. She cried out loud, her mouth wide open.

Sobbing, she felt an unfamiliar pain deep in her nose, and because she wasn’t prepared for that pain, she whimpered.

Then, she let her large tears break free, dissolving them into the sea of blood that spread beneath her knees.

Joanne likes Oakley.

Joanne also likess Guru-sama Aaros.

My beloved two. Together, she wanted the two of them them to face the same direction and create a happy world.

But now, it seems that dream will never come true.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Guru-sama.

“Ahhh, ahhhhhhhh!”

The girl faced complete defeat for the first time. She had cut off her retreat and lost the gamble in which she had staked her everything.

Mixed in with her tears was a crisp, fresh emotion. A trembling taste of regret.

She had felt plenty of irritation and despair before, but this was the first time she had ever felt such frustration.

A heart-clearing, cool turmoil of emotions raced through her body.

Ah, he teaches me so many things I don’t know.

Within her fading consciousness, Joanne thought vaguely.

In the corner of her lingering regrets and frustration, a faint but certain joy welled up.

That’s the man I fell in love with—she affirmed.

Joanne’s heart was strong. But even she couldn’t perform the feat of never showing a slight gap.

She had inadvertently glanced at the tantalizing end that flickered before her. It was meant to be just a fleeting look to confirm its shape, yet that allowed the intrusion of another.

As Joanne’s mind was being dyed over, she was enveloped in a sense of bliss.

Lying on the bed, Joanne looked up at Oakley, who was lying close beside her, watching over her.

“… I’ve lost?”

“Your downfall was falling in love with me.”

“…You like me too, don’t you, Oakley? You’re here by my side, after all. You must love me.”

“…You loved me too much.”

Upon hearing those words, Joanne smiled as if all her strength had left her.

“It’s the weakness of being in love.”

Finally, Joanne rested her forehead against Oakley’s chest and fell asleep with a contented expression.

―The match, where intense passions clashed, came to an end in madness and love.

The winner was Oakley Mercury.

It was the moment when a man, who had resolved to be stronger than anyone else, triumphed over the Executive for the first time.

The mind of the girl named ‘Joanne’ fell into a deep slumber, and a new spirit born between ‘Oakley’ and ‘Joanne’ awakened.

This new ego life, born out of a physical exchange, was like a child conceived by the two.

“Good night, Joanne-sama.”

Oakley, with a face full of affection, combed Joanne’s hair.

The scene in the room, capturing the two of them, was so madly chaotic—yet as beautiful as a painting.