Chapter 105

She missed her mother so much. The little girl could no longer tell whether she was alive or dead. All she knew was homesickness. Her five senses had mostly abandoned her, and everything was dulled even when she was semiconscious. Her body felt in perpetual want, leaving her without the strength to pull her foggy thoughts together. The girl was so young, yet her body had been bled dry. As an Otherworlder, her physical form was apparently a revolutionary test subject to the researchers. Addiction, brainwashing, mind-wiping, forced truth-telling, hypnosis… Her body hid the possibilities of anything that could have a negative influence on the human soul and spirit. The Pure Concept that was attached to her soul possessed the rare property of consuming her very flesh. By taking pieces of her body and making conjuring adjustments, the researchers could produce all kinds of evil drugs with powerful effects without needing to do any complicated conjurings of their own, much to their excitement. The tubes attached to her arms continuously drained her blood, and sometimes parts of her body were cut off as well. She had grown weary of screaming in agony, and she was too tired to feel the fatigue. She’d long since passed the point of wishing for death and could tell that her mind was becoming detached from her body. Worst of all, she wasn’t able to die. The moment she died, a Pure Concept conjuring brought her back to life. Her only escape would be losing all her memories and becoming a Human Error that wouldn’t understand what she was going through. Each time she died and was revived, more of her memories vanished. Yet right when it seemed she would be free from it all, her memories were all restored. The people researching her Pure Concept didn’t want their precious test subject to become a Human Error. They were determined to keep their endless source of materials. Unable to die or even lose her mind, the girl finally sank into total despair. The world that tore her away from her mother was hell itself. She seethed with hatred and anger. It grew into a deep-seated grudge, a curse. Her negative feelings only pushed her conjurings to a new stage. The researchers’ joy served to deepen her hopelessness. Even resignation and indolence only gave them access to new Original Sins. And then, after an untold amount of time had passed… Her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth were all covered, and all she could sense were the vibrations on her skin. “How horrible…” When she first heard the voice, she wasn’t aware of the surrounding world. When someone freed her from her fetters, her five senses were so terrified that they refused to acknowledge anything. Any new change meant the start of a fresh level of hell. Differences frightened her. She only saw hope as the prelude to despair. “Ryuunosuke.” A girl clad in a sailor uniform spoke to the boy behind her with a voice that shook from rage. “Destroy this awful lab.” “Yup.” The ground shook violently. Something shattered, and there was a sensation like the floor dropping away. As the girl began to fall, someone caught her, and she felt herself rising. The next moment, the girl was flying. She was sitting atop something so very, very large that one look wasn’t enough to see it all. The being she rested on resembled something she’d seen in picture books. A dragon. It was only later that she would learn that this massive mythical creature casting a shadow on the ground was the boy transformed. The dragon carrying her on his back used his giant body to destroy the laboratory. Even the counterattacks from conjured weapons couldn’t damage his scales. “I’m sorry we’re late.” She was outside. It was only upon realizing this that she opened her eyes. Her mind had finally caught up to the fact that she’d been set free. She looked up and saw a person. It wasn’t one of those horrible people who’d been researching her. It was a girl in a sailor uniform that made her place of origin apparent. The girl in the sailor uniform’s black hair fluttered in the wind; her face was elegant and cool. After so long, light brought tears to the freed prisoner’s eyes. “I wanna go home…” When she beheld her savior, a wish she’d long since abandoned forced its way out of her mouth. She was sick of this place, this stupid world. She’d been locked away, experimented on, and drained. As she clung to the girl who’d rescued her from that terrible situation, she wailed and sobbed. “I wanna go home to my mommmyyyy…!” She wished to return to her mother, who’d loved and needed her unconditionally. The girl in the sailor uniform patted Maya’s head gently. “I know. You’ve got someone waiting for you, right?” This became a memory she couldn’t forget. No matter how many times she used her Pure Concept, this moment remained carved into her heart. Even after becoming a Human Error for a time, she remembered the person she adored. “Let’s go home together.” This happened about a thousand years ago. It was the moment Hakua Shirakami saved Maya Ooshima. “Home…to Japan.” Undoubtedly, Hakua was Maya’s hero.