Chapter 33: The protagonist boy runs into the suspicious girl again

At some point, Akegami Sora was gone. Maybe she was resting somewhere in the shade.

The Deep Calamities that had appeared were all small fry, so Kototsuka-san and Shishiba-san were handling them.

…They told me it was fine to relax, but I didn’t have the nerve to fool around in the middle of all that.

Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be faster to just run electricity through the water? Apparently, they didn’t want to kill the fish needlessly.

…Yeah, I guess that would be cruel.

—Suddenly, a chilling, unpleasant sensation crawled up my spine.

This… this is what it feels like when a Deep Calamity appears.

"Shinozaki-kun!"

"Yeah, let’s head over to Kototsuka-san and the others."

I was pulled along by Kisa-san as we broke into a run.

So those fish weren’t the real enemy—just extras?

…I thought we had it pretty easy, but it doesn’t look like it’ll be that simple.

Just as we tried to move toward the sea, something black fell from the sky.

A massive maw. Fangs. Shaggy limbs.

A beast-type Deep Calamity.

"You guys okay over there? The fish stopped spawning, but—wait, it’s already here?"

"…A beast-type Deep Calamity?"

Kototsuka-san and Shishiba-san came over from the other side.

…But Kototsuka-san’s expression was tense.

—Grrrrrrrr…

An unpleasant sound echoed—the cry of a Deep Calamity.

There’s no time to think. We need to deal with this first.

"Here we go, everyone! 《Soul Flame》"

"Right. 《Slash Territory》"

"…《Magic Word》"

Each of them activated their skills.

This is bad—we haven’t established a Connect Link.

The ground beneath the Deep Calamity froze, and between Kisa-san’s blows and explosions and the slashes generated by Shishiba-san, the creature was torn apart.

…It went down quickly. Maybe this team is actually pretty strong.

"…Shinozaki Nagisa."

Kototsuka-san approached through the shattered remains of the Deep Calamity. …Her face had been stiff earlier, but now it was even more rigid than usual.

"What’s wrong, Kototsuka-san?"

"…Beast-type Deep Calamities are a problem."

"…Ah."

It seemed Shishiba-san had realized something too.

I looked at Kisa-san. She just shrugged. It seemed like we were the only ones who didn’t understand.

Was there something about the types of Deep Calamities?

If anything, last time it had only been insect-types.

"There are various types of Deep Calamities, but beasts are different. Those only appear in connection with the Fourth Deep Calamity Disaster."

"Only in the Fourth…?"

The Fourth Deep Calamity Disaster occurred between the Third one that attacked Akegami Sora and the Fifth one from before.

…If I remember correctly, it involved a massive composite-type Deep Calamity that couldn’t be defeated.

"If I recall, it was a composite Deep Calamity made up of dozens of beast-types gathered together, and what spills out from it becomes beast-type Deep Calamities… something like that?"

"That’s right."

Kototsuka-san nodded at Shishiba-san’s explanation.

…So these things came from the source of the Fourth Disaster?

"Huh, I see. But if they couldn’t defeat the Fourth Disaster, is that really okay?"

"It doesn’t move outside a fixed area. So as long as that region is sealed off, it’s fine."

"Then why couldn’t they defeat it?"

"It was too big. Half-hearted attacks wouldn’t even scratch it, and beast-type Deep Calamities spawn automatically around it."

So it was that enormous. The one that appeared at the end of the Fifth Disaster was already huge… was this even bigger than that?

And then, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

"Beast-type Deep Calamities only appear near that composite one, right?"

"That’s correct."

"…Is this place close to it?"

"Maybe somewhat."

"So normally, they wouldn’t appear here?"

"Right. Unless—that composite Deep Calamity is moving."

Everyone instinctively held their breath.

If the thing that couldn’t be defeated—but was safe because it didn’t move—started moving…?

That would be really bad.

"Do you understand now? This is an emergency."

It really was an emergency. We needed to contact the school immediately.

That aside—

"By the way, Kototsuka-san, you really know a lot."

"…If I had to say one thing, it’s that the reason I awakened as a Curse Seeker was because I fought a beast-type Deep Calamity."

…Kototsuka-san might have quite a heavy past herself.

I looked at her face. As always, her expression was hard to read—whatever lay beneath it was hidden.

"More importantly, where did Akegami Sora-chan go?"

"…Yeah, where’s that Akegami girl?"

Now that I think about it, I assumed she was resting in the shade, but she’s not here.

Maybe I should go look for her… just as I thought that, I heard footsteps crunching on sand.

"S-sorry, everyone. It looked like a Deep Calamity showed up—are you all okay?"

Akegami Sora… she’s safe—

As I turned toward her voice, I noticed someone behind her.

…Actually, they were clinging to her as they walked. Wait—what’s going on?

The others were staring too, equally confused.

"Um, Akegami-san… who is that?"

"Huh? Well… I’m not really sure…"

"I-I’m, um… a fan of Akegami-san."

She tilted her head awkwardly.

…That hat and choker look familiar. She’s the person I met earlier while waiting for the changing room.

A fan? Did they already know each other?

"Wait, weren’t you there when we went to buy swimsuits?"

"Wah—Kurokawa Kisa…"

She jumped and hid behind Akegami-san. Is she shy around people?

So she knows Kisa-san too.

"Mahiro, could you let go of me now?"

"Eek—s-sorry…"

She let go of Akegami-san and stood in front of us again.

"U-um… my name is Nishizono Mahiro, and—…nope, I can’t do this!"

"Hey, Mahiro?"

"S-sorry, I’m scared of people…! 《Magic Word》—'Wind'!"

Just as she started introducing herself, she suddenly ran off without even listening to Akegami-san.

But that’s not the issue.

"My… skill?"

…That’s right—she used the same skill as Kototsuka-san. There shouldn’t be any Curse Seekers with identical skills.

"…I don’t really get it either, but she’s… strange."

"Yeah, definitely strange."

"But she used Connect Link too, right?"

…Connect Link as well?

I’ve heard there are Curse Seekers who can use it… but this feels different.

Let’s set that aside for now. First, we need to share what’s happened with Akegami-san.

"So, actually—"

I began explaining everything to her.

◇◇◇

—Ran away, ran away, ran away.

Carried by the wind as she ran, Nishizono Mahiro thought.

There was something she needed to say, but instead she had said something strange to Akegami-san and left.

She had wanted to help her somehow, seeing the pain in her eyes… but ended up saying something nonsensical.

It’s true—she wanted to capture her. To shut themselves away together, just the two of them.

But there were other things she needed to say.

It’s always like this. She can never do anything right.

She shut herself inside a bathroom stall and crouched down.

She liked being alone. It meant she didn’t have to worry about anything.

But when she tried to think, memories of shouting voices and large arms pinning her down flashed through her mind.

She couldn’t stop trembling.

It’s not like anyone here is at fault. And yet, these memories surface on their own.

She hated it.

"I can’t let Akegami-san—someone like me—see me like this…"

She muttered softly to herself.

The glimpse she had seen of Akegami Sora’s past had been overwhelming.

Compared to that, her own problems felt insignificant.

She waited until the trembling stopped.