I Need to Use the Bathroom – Part 01
The rabbit Megalo finally ran off, and we headed home. My hands were full with overstuffed bags packed with way too many plushies from the crane game. Of course, I was the one carrying all of them. But before I even complained, Eu picked one up and carried it for me.
Man, her kindness really hit me deep, straight into my bones and guts.
Haruna walked ahead with a spring in her steps. She didn’t seem to notice the light had turned red, or maybe she just didn’t know what it meant.
Just as she was about to step into the crosswalk, Sera grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Close call.
“Haruna, when the light’s red…”
“Oh, right. It turns red because it’s stained with blood, yeah!”
Exactly, which is why it’s dangerous.
“Well, whatever. Red means stop,” I said.
“Y-Yeah, got it.”
Sera wiped the drool trickling from the corner of her mouth with her hand. Apparently, stained with blood had a very appetizing ring to it for a Vampire Ninja.
The light turned green, and we moved into the crowd. People passed us by. In the middle of the crosswalk, an office worker bumped into the bag I was holding.
“Sorry,” I said.
Then I caught sight of Eu out of the corner of my eye. Next to her was a tall guy with his hands in his pockets. He looked like a high schooler. His face was so close to hers, it almost looked like he was about to kiss her.
Seriously? Hitting on a girl right in the middle of the damn crosswalk?
The big bag Eu had taken from me slipped from her hand and hit the white stripes of the crosswalk.
Just as I opened my mouth to say something, Eu pulled out the ballpen she always carried, spun around, and swung it. The pen transformed into a massive scythe.
So that thing was a weapon all along.
The sudden appearance of the giant scythe threw the street into chaos. People near Eu scrambled away from the crosswalk.
Ignoring the commotion, Eu brought the scythe down. It sank into the pickup artist’s shoulder. He didn’t even try to dodge. Smiling, he didn’t so much as glance at the blood spraying from his shoulder, nor did he take his hands out of his pockets, calmly speaking instead.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea for you to get worked up?” he said with a knowing smirk.
I recognized that voice. It was the same voice that came from Kyouko’s mouth when I had her cornered before.
“You’re looking at me like you want to ask what I’m doing here, Eucliwood.”
Eu gave a firm nod.
And just for the record, I was giving him the same look. My eyes were full of suspicion, but he clearly didn’t care about anyone but Eu.
She seemed different than usual. She always had an air of mystery about her, but today, it was more intense than ever.
Her silver hair billowed gently, not from the wind, but by the blue light rising around her feet.
“Total coincidence. I just happened to be walking by. But you caused this, didn’t you, Eucliwood?”
The man smiled again. Eu’s expression looked more pained than usual.
Why would a coincidence be her fault?
“That’s a lot of plushies you got there. Must’ve been a fun time, huh? That’s the problem. Everything comes back to you, Eucliwood.”
Raw energy poured out of Eu’s body, clear blue, like the sky, like water. It looked like flames. Within it shimmered faint streaks of ruby-red light.
It was the same color that appeared when I used the chainsaw. In other words, Haruna’s magical power.
“That scythe,” I muttered.
“That’s a body pillow, Ayumu,” Sera said.
What?
“You didn’t know? Miss Hellscythe always sleeps cuddling that scythe.”
Hellscythe. Right. Eu’s name did have the word scythe in it.
Was this her true form? There’s no way you could sleep comfortably hugging something like that. Wait, why was I freaking out? Focus, damn it.
First, I had to calm everyone down.
“Everyone! That’s just a body pillow! Don’t panic! It’s just a body pillow!”
Even I didn’t know what I was saying anymore.
Anyone would’ve thought this was the scene of a murder, and a plain old zombie like me couldn’t possibly restore order.
People fled frantically. The moment Eu yanked the scythe free and swung it again, the man leapt back like he’d bounced off a trampoline.
“Whenever you feel joy, the last person you want to see shows up. Did you really not want to see me that badly, Eucliwood?”
“Aaah!”
Eu let out a cry and charged, raising the scythe high and slamming her shoulder into him. The man shook his head wearily. He closed the distance in a flash, then punched Eu square in her lovely face, sending her flying.
“Eu! Sera, stop her!”
Eu grabbed the scythe again. Mana flared violently around her as she lunged. The tip of the scythe pierced the man’s eye.
“Don’t be so hasty. It’s too soon. There’s not enough firewood yet. To burn your heart, we still a lot more kindling.”
Smiling, the man stroked Eu’s cheek. She clenched her jaw, tightened her grip on the scythe.
It was a bizarre sight. One person smiling gently with a crushed eye, the other scowling in frustration mid-swing. Around them, streams of blue magical energy clashed violently.
Even I could tell. Eu’s mana was in complete disarray.
“And now, because you lost control, the fate of everyone here has changed. Whatever happens next, it’s all on you.”
After he’d said everything he wanted to say, the dark mist around the man dispersed, and he vanished.
The fog cleared, revealing a horde of Megalo. As packed as the starting line of a marathon.
More of these guys, huh?
There really was a massive outbreak of them. Actually, this was likely because of Eu’s turbulent magical powers.
What the man said about the fate of everyone here changing, maybe he meant this. The appearance of the Megalo.
What the hell am I thinking?
This wasn’t Eu’s fault. It was just pure coincidence.
Eu loosened her grip on the scythe. Grief clouded their eyes.
“Eu… you okay?”
I placed a hand on her frail shoulder. When she slowly turned to face me, her eyes looked like they were about to overflow with tears.
It felt like if I let go of her shoulder now, I’d lose something important.
Her eyes were moist, her body trembling, and her lips were pressed tight like she was holding something in.
I wanted to hug her. I wanted to pat her head. I wanted to do something. No, I had to do something.
Eu turned her scythe back into a pen and, wearing a blank face like nothing had happened, looked toward the road packed with Megalo.
“It’s my fault.”
It would’ve been easy to tell her that wasn’t true. But I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.
Damn it. Without my Magigear, there was no way I could take on this many. Sera seemed to realize that, too.
“Ayumu.”
“We’re getting out of here.”
“A Vampire Ninja does not cower before any foe.”
“Yeah, yeah. But what about Haruna and Eu? We can’t protect them and fight. Let me put it differently. Let’s maintain a distance for now. Those things are after me, Haruna, and Eu. We need to move somewhere where civilians won’t get caught up in the fight.”
“Understood. I’ll take Miss Hellscythe. You take Haruna.”
“Got it.”
Sera scooped Eu up in a bridal carry, and I hoisted Haruna onto my back and took off.
“H-Hey, watch where you’re touching!”
Save your breath, will you? Wait. Something felt off. While running, I tilted my head back just slightly.
“Haruna, you feel okay?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Even with all those Megalo popping up, Haruna was acting totally normal. Why? Usually she’d be squeaking out and shaking like a leaf.
Eu held out a note toward me. “Those are fake Megalo.”
So that was it. The ones charging around without a trace of their usual cutesy weirdness were fake. That’s why Haruna wasn’t reacting?
Wait a sec. Where did those Megalo come from? They showed up right after that creepy guy disappeared. Did he create them?
“Eu, can that guy make Megalo?”
“Megalo need a human’s and a Magiclad Girl’s soul, both of which go to the Underworld when they die. He can’t make real ones. But if it’s imitations using only human souls, maybe.”
So Eu was thinking the same thing. But why unleash a horde of fake Megalo? I’d been previously told Megalo were made from the souls of the dead. That guy had been gathering souls to create them by using Kyouko.
But why did he need to create these annoying things in the first place?
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