The Case of Being Reincarnated as a Heretic Mob Character in an Eroge Where Everyone is Extremely Determined - Chapter 41

Chapter 41: A Scar Far from the Afterglow

Joanne was cradled in my arms, having lost consciousness as if she were asleep.

Perhaps her mind couldn’t keep up and losing consciousness was the only option. It’s likely that my ego and Joanne’s ego are being mixed, forming a new, separate personality.

I don’t know what kind of person will emerge from this, but the past that she has felt won’t just disappear.

In the end, nothing can be understood until she wakes up.

“…Is it over?”

The worst possible scenario I could imagine was my defeat, being completely taken over by Joanne and the Aaros Temple Order.

Had that happened, all my struggles would have been in vain, and my determination would never have come to light, leading to a disastrous end.

If my heart had been fully corrupted, that outcome might have subjectively felt like the greatest happiness—but I managed to escape the encroaching chaos.

I didn’t even glance at the sweet temptation. That’s why I was able to preserve my ‘self’.

I looked down at Joanne, who curled up in my arms.

Wiping away the tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes with my index finger, the redness and swelling from her recent crying became apparent.

The painful swelling stood out in stark contrast to her pale, translucent skin.

Confirming the silent figure of Joanne, I savored the afterglow of the victory I had seized.

—I won. I survived.

At a great sacrifice, I had triumphed over Joanne.

Massive amounts of blood and flesh, all the organs within the torso, a part of the self, the imposition of chronic mental contamination and poor health—this much was necessary to shatter the mentality of a single Executive. And this was despite having taken the shortest route, not the orthodox approach.

This victory required a miraculous amount of luck and certain preconditions.

It was because someone with power like Joanne happened to be madly in love with me and was willing to fight on the grounds I desired—bringing it to a fifty-fifty chance and a matter of fate, so I was able to win.

In the end, it wasn’t because I was strong that I won, but because Joanne lost due to the weakness of her infatuation.

That strength of feeling was a matter of luck as well—but anyway, I won.

The thought that I no longer need to resort to bizarre acts brings me a slight sense of nostalgia mixed with relief.

Overwhelmed by a sense of despair and fatigue, I lean heavily on Joanne, letting my upper body collapse.

My breathing becomes shallow, and even as I desperately inhale oxygen, my vision starts to flicker.

I savor the pain along with the joy. This level of suffering is a small price to pay.

I didn’t care where my original organs disappeared. My body was never meant to live long anyway.

To hell with health. I can give away a bit of my ego too.

An all-in counterattack, the gamble of a lifetime by one who has nothing—if I lost, I was prepared to have everything shattered.

I faced off against Joanne with this deermination and won.

I had no regrets.

(However, the mental contamination is more terrible than I imagined…)

Joanne was consumed by my ego, but the struggle between me and the remnants of her will continue until I die.

As long as I try to stay sane, I must continue to confront Joanne’s madness.

I was prepared for that. I wanted an ally like Joanne, even if it meant accepting an irreversible scar.

An almost immortal monster and a heretical Executive who loves me hopelessly.

It might have been better to die than to miss this opportunity.

I sit up and grab Joanne’s slender shoulders, which I had been leaning on.

Joanne, completely unconscious, simply sways her head from side to side when slightly moved.

The lukewarm air in the room touches the inside of my body, and I’m struck by a strange chill.

(Ugh… This is bad. My chest is still open, and I have no means of recovery…)

My abdomen is one thing, but I still haven’t had my chest wound closed.

If I don’t get that healed properly with healing magic, I’ll end up dying in vain despite having survived the fierce battle.

“Hey, wake up… Please wake up, Joanne…”

Though the bleeding had slowed, I had already lost a tremendous amount of blood. Any more blood loss would be really bad.

Right now, I could lose consciousness at any moment. I could truly die from blood loss.

Amidst the recurring sharp pain and dizziness, I shook Joanne’s body.

“…I have no strength――”

My desperate act was in vain, and, drained of strength, I slid off the bed.

I was slammed into a sea of blood with a loud noise and splash scattered in the corners of my vision.

(I have to somehow get help from outside the room―)

While enduring the chilling cold that enveloped my entire body with the last of my strength, I crawled toward the door.

There were only a handful of people who might be able to treat my wounds, but I had to be found by someone, or I would die.

With a desperate attempt, I reached for the doorknob, but in a crawling position, I couldn’t make it, and despair set in.

Amidst this, I noticed the sound of footsteps stomping closer from outside the room.

The next moment—a knock, as if pounded in anger, resounded two, three times. The wooden door creaked, a knock that seemed as if it would break through.

Following that, a voice filled with anger was directed through the door. It was the furious voice of Pork.

“In the middle of the night, creak creak creak creak— I was going to be patient, but continuing for more than an hour is just too much!!”

I was relieved and welcomed her visit with joy.

I didn’t even feel like clearing up the misunderstanding. Or rather, opening the door would clear it up in an instant.

“Hey, give it a rest!! Is it okay if I give you a lecture for a good hour from now!? It’s okay, right!? I’m coming in, even though you’re in the middle of it!!”

Completely unaware of the situation inside the room, Pork ranted on and then forcefully pushed open the door.

Splash, a sound like waves crashing. Contrary to the force that must have been applied to the doorknob, the door opened very slowly due to the water pressure of the blood that had accumulated inside the room.

“―Huh?”

Pork’s voice, sensing something amiss.

The slowly opening door lets out a high-pitched sound. Illuminated by the light streaming in from the corridor, the interior of the private room, now drastically altered to a dark crimson, becomes clear.

A river of blood flows past Pork’s feet, seeping into the hallway. Walls covered in blood and grease. Dry bloodstains blocking the light from the lamp. A bed that seems to have sunk into a red sea.

This bizarre scene quickly subdued Pork’s fury.

“…W-what is this?”

Pork’s face turns pale as if she has stepped into another world.

Perhaps sensing something was wrong when she saw me, nearly dead, rolling at her feet, she manifested venomous thorns from the gaps between her nightwear and skin.

Her gaze is combat-ready. After a quick glance at me, Pork fixes her stare on Joanne, who is asleep on the bed.

Noticing Joanne’s chest rising and falling with her breath, Pork finally retracts her thorns.

“…Now that I think about it, their communication is nothing like what I had imagined…”

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Pork tends to my wounds with healing magic without asking me any questions. She placed her hand on my chest and, with a reluctant expression, began to heal my injuries.

It would be one thing if it were an honorable wound earned through actions that benefited the cult, but these were scars etched by acts of indulgence.

Pork probably wasn’t feeling too good about it. Her eyes were incredibly cold.

However, this misunderstanding worked in my favor. No matter how much blood Joanne and I shed, we could excuse it as communication resulting from the pursuit of our s*xual tendencies.

But to be honest, even if I said, ‘We were seriously battling by exchanging organs to intentionally trigger memory transfer, eroding each other’s egos to induce brainwashing,’ Pork wouldn’t believe me.

There’s a high chance she would retort, “Have you lost your mind?” Actually, when I put it into words, it sounds like we were doing something quite horrific, as if it’s someone else’s business.

Having nothing to do while being treated, I decided to look at Pork’s attire—rather, she was in front of me, so I had no choice but to look.

Her sleepwear was a sporty type that exposed her navel, and in the abdominal area, her toned groin and the hint of poison thorns were partially visible.

She probably didn’t fully retract her poison thorns because, even though she understood the situation, she couldn’t feel at ease without them out, as if she were a person who had just witnessed a ghost.

Poor thing.

“I won’t ask what you were doing… I can pretty much tell by looking at those wounds.”

“I’m sorry, I got carried away.”

“There’s no need to say things like that.”

Despite her yelling, Pork lent a hand as I tried to stand up.

Taking her hand, I somehow managed to get upright and then realized just how dirty the room was. This room seemed beyond use now.

“Sigh, I suppose I should at least heal Joanne too.”

“I apologize for the inconvenience.”

“You should feel sorry. From now on, can you use the torture chamber?”

“I will.”

Leaning on the wall, I step out into the hallway.

The clothing on my lower body has gone beyond red to pitch black, and everything that catches my eye seems unreal.

As I sit in the hallway, trying to catch my breath, a distinctive clomping sound stops next to me.

Glancing sideways to find the source of the noise, I see a pair of thick-soled loafers neatly aligned.

I raise my gaze.

Frilly black knee-high socks. A skirt below the knee. And perhaps because I’m looking up from below, the girl coughs and holds down the hem of her skirt.

“Pervert, stop it.”

“….I didn’t mean to.”

Drawn by the scent of blood, the one who arrived was the madwoman Stella, who appraises human bodies as food.

With a straight face, she puffed out her cheeks and took on an attitude of indignation toward the insolent person who tried to peek under her skirt.

However, her gothic lolita outfit provided perfect defense underneath the skirt, so no underwear could be seen from below.

Well, even if it’s defended, one wouldn’t feel good about having their skirt looked under.

I honestly bowed my head.

“…I thought I smelled something delicious, and it turns out to be quite a situation.”

“Yes, well…”

I gave a vague response to Stella’s monotone words.

It was good that the wounds had healed, but I had a bad feeling about her getting close to Joanne right now.

She fixed her sharp gaze on my torso and, without changing her expression, placed her hand over her mouth.

“…Surprising. …a full exchange?”

“…”

“…I have no interest in grafting… Only brains nurtured in a pure environment have become my delight.”

Stella scooped up the blood that had spilled onto the floor of my room with her hands, and with a flick of her red tongue, she licked it and rolled it in her mouth.

After a moment of grimacing, she cleared her throat softly and turned on her heel.

“…A curious taste… I wonder what kind of mingling produced this… Perhaps you should tell me about it next time.”

With those parting words, she disappeared into the darkness.

Stella is sensitive to the scent and taste of blood. With just a glance at my body and her keen sense of smell, she had understood everything about the recent organ transplant.

Moreover, her high sensitivity allowed her to grasp the essence of the act from just a taste of blood.

While Pork just timidly looks around the room… Stella is too sharp.

Now that Joanne has fallen, Stella, Juanquiro, Pork, and Celestia are the four individuals I must be wary of.

“Pork-sama”

“That’s enough, you should leave.”

“Excuse me.”

Pork takes a dismissive attitude towards me as I leave the room in a mess.

Even though it’s my private room, she probably doesn’t feel good about having the building owned by the cult dirtied.

With pajamas gaping open, revealing thorns that had sprouted, she was engrossed in the task of wiping off the blood that had stuck here and there, using cleaning tools she held.

Since Pork hurried me to leave quickly, I didn’t resist and left the place.

I wanted to be the first to face Joanne when she woke up, so I made sure not to forget to take her with me.

“Ah, you know where Joanne’s room is, right?”

“Yes. Good night, Pork-sama.”

“Yes, yes.”

Dragging my legs heavy as lead, I head towards Joanne’s room.

Joanne’s body should have been very light, but to me now, it felt like an unbearable weight.