Suddenly, a chain appeared from an alternate dimension, capturing Sharin.
Sharin died. Or rather, she suddenly became a corpse.
“Lauren, what is going on?”
“I… I don’t know. But I think this body is real. She… her soul was just ripped out.”
“Is this the work of a Necromancer too?”
Lauren tilted her head. It seemed she had no idea either. For the time being, it seemed that touching the chain would draw out one’s soul.
“Everyone, be careful—”
As I was about to say that, a chain flew from the side and wrapped around my wrist. It coiled around me like a sentient snake and wouldn’t let go. I immediately tried to peel it off with my other hand.
“H-Hiroaki-san!”
“Don’t touch it, your soul will be taken!”
Damn it, it won’t come off. Just like Sharin, I’ll be dragged away and my soul will be ripped out. If this continues, everyone will fall in the same way. I can’t fight because I can’t see the enemy.
The only thing I can see is this chain. So I’ll just have to use it.
“Lauren! Your hand, my hand!”
I reached my hand out towards Lauren. She instinctively reached hers out towards me. But instead of grabbing, my outstretched fingers lightly brushed hers.
“Eh?”
Lauren’s surprised face. After that, my body was rapidly pulled away from her. I was dragged across the ground, my body scraped by the branches and leaves of the bushes.
And then, a black hole appeared before my eyes. This is what swallowed Sharin. And the next prey was me.
An infinitely expanding pitch-black darkness. My consciousness was being pulled into the abyss where even light could not reach.
Anxiety. Fear. Only those things swelled within my chest like the universe, dominating me. It felt like I was being eternally imprisoned in some far-off place that no one knew. Within that darkness was a vague, inexpressible nightmare I had seen as a child.
I felt my body float in the air. A long, long dream was about to begin. No, perhaps it had already begun long ago.
Where am I? It’s so quiet. It’s pitch black and I can’t see anything. I don’t know if my eyes are open or closed.
When I looked back, I saw myself lying down in a faint light.
Why was I over there? I have to go wake myself up. But my body drifted further and further away, contrary to my will.
I’m scared, the light is getting smaller. I reach out my hand and struggle desperately. But no matter how much I struggle, I can’t move forward.
Because my body is over there. Then what is happening to me now? Where are my hands? My feet? What kind of face did I even have?
I can’t touch. I can’t remember what I looked like. As the light receded, my memories faded.
Amidst this, I found a single thread floating before me. It seemed to emit a faint blue light. In the midst of everything being vague, only that thread had a slight sense of presence.
I reached out for the hands that had gone somewhere and tried to grab it. My body was already gone, so this must be an illusion. The image of catching the thread…
The next moment, I felt as if the core of my soul was tightly grasped. My non-existent heart felt like it was burning and swelling. The light that had gone far away was rapidly approaching.
My vision spun, and the ground and sky flashed alternately.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch. Ah, it hurts! My hands are back!”
“Get up already!!”
Veronica’s voice echoed from overhead, and she grabbed me by the collar and pulled me up. I couldn’t grasp the situation, but for the time being, I filled my lungs with air.
An explosion happened right next to me. My heart, which had just returned, felt like it was about to burst. So many things were happening at once that my brain couldn’t keep up.
Veronica, who had woken me up, moved towards the direction from which the attack had come.
“They got away! They went that way.”
“Understood.”
I heard Nina and Veronica’s voices. Purple flames burned the nearby grass, flickering and flaring.
“Damn it, where are they?!”
For the time being, I seemed to be safe. I hid behind a nearby tree and caught my breath. I’ll leave those enemies to everyone else for now.
Now, what kind of attack did I receive? I tried hard to remember, but fragments would surface and then quickly disappear. Being in some kind of space and losing my limbs. Before that… being pulled by chains and almost sucked into a black hole.
“Are… are you alright?”
“Lauren, did you save me?”
“Y-Yes, you came back! I’m glad. The enemy only… took your soul.”
Only my soul? Then was that why Sharin suddenly became a corpse? Lauren’s ability must have pulled my soul, which had separated, back into my body.
My attempt to search for the enemy’s location with her thread had paid off.
“Has Sharin’s soul disappeared?”
“I don’t know. I… I was able to pinpoint the enemy’s location for a moment, but… I wonder?”
Peeking out from behind the tree, I saw everyone struggling against an unseen enemy. The fireball Veronica had unleashed was being sucked into an alternate dimension. Then, suddenly, it reappeared from another location and returned to everyone.
Perhaps their main body was in a different place, creating the alternate dimension with magic.
