Chapter: 52. Who is That Hostage
“——Success! Hurry and escape~”
From the very beginning, dd-chan never intended to fight the opponent.
The opponent’s strength was considerable, and it was clear at a glance that a quick victory was out of the question.
Right now, the priority was to move Professor Amakasu from this place rather than to defeat a difficult ace-level ability user.
Therefore, dd-chan’s recent transformation was merely a diversion.
Its real plan was to take the opportunity to create countless “clones” to trap the opponent in the field and force them to fight the clones, thus buying time.
——The plan was going very smoothly, and the opponent was still oblivious.
Just as dd-chan was about to turn back to find Alice and the others.
It was suddenly called from behind.
And the caller did not refer to it as “Lord of Ghosts” or “Ghost-sama”, but rather used “dd-chan,” a name used only by Alice in the Starry Society; even Maria would call it by the new term “ghost.”
Another point of concern was that the voice sounded very familiar.
It was an incredibly nostalgic voice that, upon hearing it, made dd-chan feel as though it had crossed through time and space. A surge of intense emotions flooded its heart, causing it to instinctively get goosebumps and the scalp to feel tingly.
——No way?
With that thought, dd-chan turned its head stiffly, in a manner completely inconsistent with its “Lord of Ghosts” persona, to look in the direction of the voice.
……
……
——What kind of reaction would dd-chan have?
Nagi was a bit anxious yet somewhat hopeful as she approached dd-chan from behind.
As she walked through the misty forest, she quickly realized she was within a domain, specifically one that she was very familiar with — “Mist Authority”.
And this domain belonged to dd-chan.
Thus, she followed the energy emanating from the domain and successfully found dd-chan.
The figure before her, compared to the palm-sized doll from the past, looked completely different. The flowing white long hair and slender body made Nagi initially think she had mistaken the identity.
If it weren’t for the magical energy response from dd-chan, which was identical to what she recognized, Nagi would have found it hard to believe that this ancient-style handsome man was actually the perverse evil spirit who once obsessed over peeping at beautiful girls.
This was their reunion after many years.
And it was her first opportunity to reveal her true identity to someone familiar after “resurrecting,” aside from the Finality.
——Speaking of which, wasn’t her first time exposing her identity in front of dd-chan?
Such coincidences made Nagi feel a tinge of nostalgia.
At the same time, she was curious about dd-chan’s reaction.
It should have already known about her death, right?
When she appeared alive in front of it again, what would its reaction be?
Though Nagi initially intended to hide her return from everyone and secretly reclaim the fragments of her soul to repel the Only Species, the sudden launch of the DLC story and the current stalemate forced her to take a different approach.
——If it’s just dd-chan, it would definitely keep her secret, right?
“Yo, dd-chan, long time no see.” Hidden in the mist, Nagi took a moment to gather her emotions and called out to the shadow on the other side of the fog.
And to make sure the other recognized her.
Nagi took the initiative to remove the contact lens from her right eye, revealing one of her eyes—
The moment “Shattered Starry Sky” appeared.
In the misty sky, bathed in the golden sunset, a silvery star suddenly emerged on the horizon.
At this moment.
It was as if the two had returned to the time of their first meeting in middle school.
In the forest wrapped in thick fog.
If there was any difference to speak of.
It was that she was now the one at a disadvantage, waiting to be helped.
Finally, as Nagi’s voice reached dd-chan’s ears,
it’s tall and slender figure suddenly quivered.
From its response, it was not a hesitation but more like a “shrinking back” after being startled, which combined with dd-chan’s current tall and straight figure, created a strong sense of dissonance.
Was it simply feeling a bit uneasy?
Nagi instinctively overlooked dd-chan’s strange reaction.
To make her “resurrection” seem more profound, Nagi tried to strike a pose.
——Just like those heroines in stories who suddenly resurrect and turn the tide!
Nagi felt quite pleased with herself.
However.
When dd-chan’s neck slowly turned like a stuck gear, revealing its handsome face,
the red eyes on it displayed surprise and confusion.
Yet when it clearly saw the visitor’s face,
the emotions in its gaze immediately transformed into relief.
This left Nagi, who witnessed this scene, a bit surprised.
——Dd-chan actually accepted her resurrection so straightforwardly!?
——I underestimated it a bit… Truly worthy of being the “Lord of Ghosts”…
——Indeed, absence makes the heart grow fonder…
“…I see, so the one who was kept in the dark was me?” dd-chan suddenly sighed in a low voice.
“?”
“I didn’t expect to be the one who was taken down so easily and ended up in hell~”
dd-chan expressed its relief.
“Return the high expectations you just had for me!?”
Certainly, dd-chan, even though its appearance changed, was still that unreliable mascot.
“Eh?”
Dd-chan seemed to be taken aback upon hearing this.
“This feeling, could it be… the real Nagi?”
“…Yes.” What’s going on? This is clearly my first appearance after resurrection; why is the atmosphere like this?
Shouldn’t it be a touching or exciting moment?
Wasn’t it supposed to be lines like “Why are you here—” or “I knew you wouldn’t just die so easily—”?
“If you really are Nagi, then I really ended up in hell, didn’t I?” dd-chan asked weakly.
“Completely wrong! How did you come to such a conclusion?”
“After all, it’s common sense that a carbon-based life form would go to hell after dying, right?”
“What kind of prejudice is that!? You should really think about it!”
“?”
“Why do you have a confused look instead!?”
“Because I’m just a puppet made of wood, right? How could I have a brain?”
“That’s a response that really leaves one speechless, aaaah—!!!”
Nagi couldn’t help but rant continuously.
This completely unforeseen reaction made the sadness that had just arisen in her heart vanish.
Feeling that dd-chan showing emotional expressions when embracing her was such an idiot—ah, ah, ah so embarrassing! Did she really make her resurrection such a big deal, only to be pierced through after that?
Nagi felt her face burning, and feeling shy, she silently put the contact lens back on.
And after experiencing that series of rants, dd-chan sensed something was amiss with the feeling after Nagi put the contact lens back on.
A carbon-based life form should have died.
It had visited her grave before.
Confirmed her death.
So who was this person appearing before it—
Just then.
The diversion dd-chan had set earlier seemed to be seen through by Shikuro.
His figure, dressed in a black uniform, burst out from one side of the mist, just in time to see dd-chan and Nagi standing fairly close to each other.
Shikuro was initially stunned to see Nagi here.
Then he urgently shouted, “So you’re the vile creature who actually used an ordinary person as a hostage—”
Hostage?
Dd-chan also froze for a moment, slowly directing its red eyes to the black-haired girl beside it.
Although she no longer felt like a mere carbon-based life form to it,
considering her earlier confession and its past understanding of carbon-based life forms—
——Are you sure the person being held as a hostage right now isn’t me?
