CubexCursedxCurious:Volume4 Chapter5

Chapter 5 - The Contents Inside? / "Not void"

Part 1

The corridor was unrecognizable, with tiles peeled off, holes opened up in the concrete beneath, windows shattered, fluorescent tubes on the ceiling broken as well. One could easily imagine the intensity of the fight up to this point.

But henceforth, this was to become her own stage.

"...«Narrow Narrow Abyss». Haha, I'm so happy."

"Oh?"

"Ara ara, how popular you are, Abyss. I'm feeling a little envious."

Bivorio commented as she observed from behind Abyss. Fear slightly forced herself to ignore it.

"Looks like the moment has finally arrived to retrieve Haruaki's memories."

"That's what the Japanese sword was saying as well... Is that human really that important? Perhaps it might be strange for me to ask, being the one who asked him to make his confession, but are his memories so important that you'll go this far to retrieve them?"

"Of course!"

Abyss' hat swayed to the side as though he were dumbfounded by an ignorant child.

"Is that really so? Perhaps I've mentioned before—My true nature is to bring salvation to mankind. Because that's what God and the cross that symbolizes God are about. That boy may very well have obtained salvation from me. I've heard from Aiko that he has forgotten everything related to Wathes, yes?"

"What—"

Fear stopped herself midway in her retort. She recalled Haruaki's mutterings to himself that night in the kitchen.

"Judging from the way you look, you must have considered it before, right? Asking humans to help lift curses... That is doubly ridiculous. For we who are non-human, surpassing humans, why would we intentionally lose the proof of our status? It is not only futile but also non-beneficial. And for an ordinary human to assist in this futile and non-beneficial endeavor—Ahhh, who knows how much suffering and trouble he has gone through to this date?"

"...Shut up."

"Since it causes suffering and offers no benefit, it's better that he stops doing that sort of thing. I have saved him from his tormented life! Asking him to confess his burden, having him forget about it. Isn't there no need to force his memories to return?"

"Shut up!"

Despite her anger, Fear did not hesitate.

"He wishes to recover his memories! Rather than torment, those memories are very important to him!"

She believed so without a doubt, because on that particular night, that was what Haruaki actually said—

"...You weren't taking away Haruaki's memories of cursed tools on purpose, right? Rather, you intended to steal all his memories. It's just that I interrupted you so it ended up with that result, right? Perhaps you may think it happened by chance, but I don't believe so."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"I think that for Haruaki, those memories occupy a great majority of his mind. Which is why he forgot those memories—That is what I believe!"

"That's your own forced interpretation. Perhaps compared to anything else, that is the burden he wishes to forget the most. In actual fact, that boy should become quite depressed to remember them... Given such a rare chance to forget them."

"Shut up, I've already said it three times, «Narrow Narrow Abyss». You're the absolute worst. I'm going to shut that mouth of yours and break it!"

Turning her Rubik's cube into the «Morgenstern», Fear closed in. Abyss also stepped forward, swinging his fist using his body weight. How foolish, no matter how hard your fist may be, you can't possibly surpass this execution tool, designed for bludgeoning and specially treated in quality.

As expected, the «Morgenstern» overcame the fist and sent Abyss reeling backwards, falling on one knee. Fear charged further forwards.

"Here I am, barehanded and unarmed, yet you still show no mercy. Truly, praise the Lord. Then you shall behold the darkness that dwells in the narrow, narrow abyss of hell!"

"Muu!?"

A blackness was emitted from his glove like smoke or mist. The mist instantly took on tangible form and extended into three spears.

"Mechanism No.20 slashing type, great blade form: «A Hatchet of Lingchi»—Curse Calling!"

Using the long and massive axe, Fear swept the three spears away all at once. The spears' tips dispersed hazily into mist, but the root portion attached to Abyss' glove showed warning signs of restlessness. Immediately—

"I see, you're harder to handle than the Japanese sword. But let us see how long can you endure!"

Several new spears and whips appeared, displaying hardness and softness. Abyss stood his ground in front of Bivorio's wheelchair, occasionally casting his gaze outside the window. He was apparently on guard in case of Kuroe's actions.

(He was just playing around with those moves just now. Is he planning on a long range attack from over there next?)

What should she do? The answer came instantly. A path needed to be opened for closing their distance. Even if for just an instant, if only this hindering darkness could be swept clean—

—Can it be done?

—It can be done.

Because she knew all about the castle lord's madness.

"Mechanism No.5 impaling type, upright form: «A Skewer Loved by Vlad Tepes»!"

She launched the execution stake, striking the floor of the corridor in front of Abyss, without penetrating any of the spears of darkness. But this was enough—That was merely a set up.

She had intended to settle the battle before retrieving the stake, but Abyss' darkness was reaching out for her, moving past the stake's position. At this moment, Fear transmitted her vigorous will to the stake through the chain of cubes that was connected to it.

"Mechanism No.12 extinction type, revolving blade form: «Tornado of Souls», Curse Calling!"

Instantly, the stake transformed into a stout and upright pillar. Extending out from that pillar were countless blades of varying lengths. Then with the grating sound of gears as a signal, the blades started revolving around the pillar like a tornado—Abyss' tentacles of darkness were haphazardly swept up and sliced apart.

The tornado of blades left claw marks on the classroom walls and caused fatal damage to the glass windows that were already on the verge of destruction. In terms of results, the tornado of blades held absolute control of air supremacy within its domain, imposing its tyranny on the space known as the corridor.

"This—what is it?"

"Haha, this reminds me of the time when three people gathered around me to play catch! Of course, the ball was a human with his arms and legs tied up. With just the slightest deviation or unsteadiness in the ball's trajectory, the result was slices, slices, slices of flesh! When members from a family of seven were used one after another as the ball, the atmosphere was the liveliest!"

Fear had no idea how much of an effect her words might produce, but any intimidation would be better than none—So she loudly yelled out memories she had no wish of recalling at all. She also remembered how the final remaining prisoner girl had fallen into despair and insanity and thrown herself into the blades at the first instant, but there was no need to waste time explaining that to Abyss.

Fear sprinted swiftly and stopped the tornado with perfect timing. Grabbing it and transforming it back to the «Morgenstern», she swept away the darkness blocking her path. Before Abyss could produce new darkness, Fear had already closed the distance in his unguarded state, swinging the supermassive murder weapon—

Then darkness erupted explosively, overflowing in a manner incomparable to before.

"Wha—!"

Fear was blown back along the corridor. Performing a back flip and landing on all fours, she looked up to see—

A cross.

Wielded by Bivorio while sitting on her wheelchair—A cross.

"...How troubling. Can't I defeat my opponent without using this form..."

"Conversely, you can win in this form, right?"

"Hmph... I get it now. Transforming back into your original form allows you to control greater amounts of darkness, am I right? If you weren't stingy with it, you could have done this from the start, right?"

Fear stood up. She had suffered no injuries of note and could still fight.

"But I don't think the situation is that favorable for you. Changed into that form, you can no longer move. In other words, you've lost the ability to dodge."

Instead of Abyss, Bivorio was the one who answered her.

"Then as the one holding him, I shall move in his stead. Just watching from the sidelines is getting boring."

She slowly stood up from the wheelchair. Her earlier wounds yet to heal completely, her footsteps were unsteady and the pain distorted her expression from time to time. This was hardly surprising, seeing as Fear had pierced quite a few holes in her abdomen last time.

However, Bivorio smiled at the cross.

"Would you do the honors, Abyss?"

"As much as I would like to avoid straining your body excessively, it can't be helped."

As soon as Abyss' words finished, the darkness surrounding the cross began to writhe—and tore up Bivorio's clothing.

The sight of her nude body was composed with the colors of gold and pure white. Wrapped around her abdomen, the bandages were also pure white. But with one exception, a single part of her body displayed a different color—that of indigo mercury. Indeed, on her right arm, which had been covered by the opera glove until now, everything below the elbow had turned into the same substance as gu poison—

"Indeed, this is Aiko-sama's curse. Causing the owner to venomize... Perhaps because she is currently producing gu poison continuously, the venomizing process is advancing rapidly."

"You're... willing to go that far?"

"We affirm curses absolutely. As the head of the organization serving as the role model, this is only natural. Were this to continue, I suppose I shall turn entirely into venom at some point? But if it allows me to serve as her foundation, I will be even more ecstatic. That said, the one fact that I shall have to part with Abyss does sadden me greatly."

"You're insane!"

Bivorio chuckled in response. The darkness writhed further and reached for Bivorio's nude body, instantly solidifying and covering her—

The darkness served as black clothing, black bandages, a black corset, as well as black armor. Despite the difference in form, it was still a nun's habit—Her previous attire. This stood as proof of her identity as the priestess serving the fake god Abyss.

"Ahhh—This feels much better, thank you."

"That's because you keep moving around despite the plaster cast. Once this ends, you do know you'll be in pain, right?"

"That is pain that ought to be loved."

"Heyaaaah!"

Fear had no intention of listening to them finish their sickening conversation. She instantly closed the distance and swung the spiked metal club—But did not feel the sensation of impact. Hastily, she turned her head.

Bivorio was suspended in midair. As though she were riding on the back of a bicycle, she was sitting sideways on Abyss with her knees drawn up.

"Wha... Flying..."

"Hahaha! As God, how could something as simple as flying pose a challenge!?"

By spewing out darkness below it, the cross was apparently using the reaction force to hover in the air. Fear recalled what had happened at the river embankment.

"I get it now. That time when I found Haruaki, you used this method to fly and escape, right?"

"Despite looking like something to be proud of, this actually does not go beyond the level of a circus act, given its poor energy efficiency... Very well."

Bivorio and Abyss landed lightly in the corridor again. Bivorio lifted Abyss effortlessly. Although her stance was similar to how she held the Cannibal Cooker last time, this is actually the cross she wielded originally. Naturally, there were no openings to exploit.

"Now that things have reached this point, let me ask you once again, Fear-sama. Will you join us at the Bivorio Family—"

"So annoying!"

Fear closed in again and smashed the spiked metal club downwards. The cross was swung to oppose her—But just before contact was made, darkness flowed out from the cross, deflecting the metal ball easily like a shield. It felt like hammering a heavy slab of rock. Taking advantage of Fear's staggering back, the cross reached out with tentacles of darkness—

"Mechanism No.20 slashing type, great blade form: «A Hatchet of Lingchi»!"

Hastily retreating, Fear used the axe to slash the dark tentacles. Without letting up, Bivorio swung the cross down from overhead—Blocked. Swing. Dodge. Transformation. Darkness. Saturation. Retreat. Transformation. Tornado slash. Transformation. Advance. Re-engage.

"...Fear-sama, would you please give up? It feels like this scene should be titled 'The End Draws Near With Darkness.'"

"That's what... I want... to say to you!"

Fear moved her body, fully absorbed in the fight. At the same time, she sensed—Somewhere in a corner of her mind, there was something rousing in excitement. Was it the thrill of battle? Perhaps. The thrill of bloodlust? No. Regarding the 'no,' this was not excitement from actions undertaken with bloodlust. Despite using her various forms in an unprecedented manner—those tools of torture and execution, Fear was standing somewhere quite far removed from her past. Even she knew that very well.

Her goal was not harming people.

She was swinging this weapon, only because—only because.

To save the existence behind her, to save a certain person.

Hence, she must not lose—Fear thought strongly to herself. No, she should amend this statement. Something simpler, something more powerful. This must be the true face of her excitement.

(—I cannot possibly lose!)

Until this resolve crushed the cross, Fear shall not halt the movements of her hand.

Part 2

There were no groans, not even the sound of breathing. Resembling living creatures but not living, appearing to be metal but not metal. This was Tateoka Aiko's gu poison—Indigo Venom.

But there should not be any problem. Under normal conditions, it might be more difficult to sense their presence. But since it was currently raining, nothing could face the splattering of raindrops without making a sound.

Hence, with a thrust, Konoha killed the quietly approaching indigo venom baby. It would have been better were it simply a strange indigo metallic shape rather than a baby—Konoha could only pray that Aiko did not harbor too many venom familiars of this type. Konoha's displeased anxiety intensified.

"...You too... will obstruct me?"

"Yes, how could I possibly not obstruct you? I cannot believe that you are going to kill everyone within the school. However, I still don't understand how that would allow you to create gu poison."

"...Due to my curse progressing to a point that allowed me to take on human form, my nature changed as a result. The essence of gu poison is that within a sealed territory, the losers' lives become the winner's nourishment. Provided I seal off a venue personally, that space is then considered a vessel called 'me.' Of course, physical methods can be used to escape to some extent—But this space called a school is already sealed off conceptually and has become 'me'..."

"So all you need to do is kill everyone here and all their lives will become the possessions of you, the winner? I see, I understand now. So the remaining question is: why would you do this on Bivorio's orders—"

Just at this moment, all the glass windows shattered on the third floor corridor, the place where Konoha had been until just now. This was probably the result of a certain energetic person using some kind of ridiculous torture tool? Hearing shards of glass falling on the muddy ground behind her, Konoha sighed.

"However, that child is going to complain if I stand here leisurely, so I'll take my time interrogating you after I stop you."

"...Really? Sorry, sorry, you treated me with such gentleness... Your food was wonderful... But I must do this, I must do this no matter what..."

Konoha did not feel displeased to hear her cooking being praised. Smiling cordially, she answered:

"Thank you. But I'll feel troubled if you get the wrong idea, so let me state for the record—I will definitely not be any more gentle than Fear-san! Especially now."

"Eh..."

"Ahhh, I can probably imagine. That child must have defeated your familiars fair and square, one by one? What a truly foolish child. The enemy numbers are admittedly great, but there's always a solution, yes?"

Saying that, Konoha advanced. Aiko gasped in surprise. With a wave of her hand, the venom familiars all rushed forward.

Konoha first aimed and chopped with her hand. Despite the hardness, she still managed to slice its head into two. Without even looking at her handiwork, Konoha took a few steps back—After pausing half a second, she swung her hand while taking a step back at the same time. In the corner of her eye, two venom familiar had crashed into each other, having lost their target. Using the few seconds of respite thus obtained, she allowed one beast to rush forward. Then carefully calculating the angle, she punched it flying with the back of her hand... Naturally, its flying body also hindered the movements of the other venom familiars.

"How should I describe this? ...The trick is to maintain a wide field of view and use imagination, how's that?"

There was no need to overreach in slaying the enemies. All she needed to do was seize appropriate opportunities.

"Seriously... It's quite an unpleasant feeling for me to reuse my memories of the battlefield. Ah, this does remind me of one matter. Didn't I mention in the beginning that you had a smell that caused agitation in the depths of my heart? Were you ever owned by anyone related to the Tokugawa? I remember there was this man from Iga whose family name was Tateoka..."

"...It's possible."

Hearing her answer, Konoha smiled gently.

"For some reason, my true nature causes me to automatically fight harder against those related to the Tokugawa. Although I wish to show mercy, I might end up becoming even less gentle, so please do take care!"

"...! Indigo Venom No.23, Name: «Unknown»! Indigo Venom No.24—"

New venom familiars appeared, splashing in the mud.

Konoha smiled faintly again and leapt into the fray of the nostalgic battlefield.

Part 3

She did not hesitate at all. Henceforth, all she needed to do was rush over to her family and fulfill her duties.

Nevertheless—

The scene she encountered first thing at the school caused turmoil in her heart once more.

It seemed as if the entire world had been turned upside down.

Once inhaled, the air seemed to turn into lukewarm body fluids.

Dissonance.

Flying over the school walls, she landed. This was her first experience in the ten-odd years she had lived. The roots of the tall trees planted next to the walls. The ground that had turned into mud. Landed on her knees, she looked forward and prepared to stand up, at this moment—

She saw it again.

Dog-like things were being slaughtered one after another.

Throb. How many times had she felt this way recently? The sense of dissonance penetrated her brain.

Kururi vomited. Digestive juices mixed itself into the mud. Clutching the «Returning Kukri of Childbirth», her hand trembled. She supported herself with both hands against the ground.

Squealing was heard. She heard squealing.

Impossible. Those indigo-colored dogs could not possibly squeal. However, she heard it.

Then what exactly was making the noises she was hearing?

"Huff... Ah... Hah—I'm... so strange... gone mad...? U-Urggggghhh...!"

Within her distorted field of view, she saw Aiko summon even more venom familiars. Throb. Those were the three dogs Abyss had caught for confirming Aiko's powers. Despite the indigo mercury appearance, she could tell from their physiques and the shape of their ears. The Norwich Terrier, the American Cocker Spaniel and the Schipperke.Eh? Why do I know the names of so many types of dogs? Why can I identify them so accurately? Do I know a lot about dogs? Throb. Throb. I clearly never had—never had—never—

Nikaidou Yutaka.

She had kept a pet dog once.

Her chest felt as though it would expand and burst from the throbbing. The dizziness felt as though her skull was going to explode. The sense of vomiting was scorching her throat. Throb.

The mixture of stomach juices and muddy water was reflecting something. Yutaka. Waiting for Kururi who had survived the suicide, the dog had barked many times at her uncle. She recalled the large build of the elderly dog. It had died. Amidst a puddle the color of ripe strawberries, its life had extinguished. Throat slashed, its fur curled up along its wounds, its flesh twitching and restless, its limbs convulsing as though suffering from the difficulty in breathing—And looking down at the dog was a certain person, holding the "く"-shaped knife—

"...Huff... A-Ahhh!"

She touched something dirty. The hand that realized that fact dropped the «Returning Kukri of Childbirth». A splash of muddy water. The knife that was supposed to have given her courage, the knife that helped her kill her uncle—The knife that continued to act, fueled by bloodthirst. What the knife had stabbed into was the warm fur that had comforted her tears many times in the past.

Buried into the depths of the final remaining family member that had stood on her side even until death.

She remembered, remembered, remembered, remembered, remembered this incident.

At the same time, it struck her. Why had she forgotten this? How could she have forgotten—

Finding herself sprawled over her own vomit, Kururi slowly raised her head. Everything had been taken away. There was nothing left in her petite body. Her asymmetric hair dangled, weighted by the rainwater it had absorbed, covering the petite girl's expression. Nothingness. Hollowness.

Her hollow lips, having even lost their trembling, moved slightly:

"...Liar..."

To whom was this word directed to? No one knew. Including everyone not present, the rain, the vomit, the knife with the bent design, the drenched hair, the sound of splashing water from the distant fighting, Nikaidou Yutaka.

No one—knew at all.

Part 4

Fear decided that the greatest issue was the darkness' buffering property. No matter how many times she struck with her weapons, the formless shield protected the cross. The problem boiled down to how to penetrate that line of defense.

The «Morgenstern»'s impacts were being deflected. «A Hatchet of Lingchi»'s blade was not working. The «Human-Perforator» only brought a disappointing sensation to her hand. Indeed, what she needed was penetrative power. Pure sharpness.

Did she possess that kind of torture and execution tool?

—Of course.

Fear answered her own question. She drew back and distanced herself from Bivorio. To get a running start.

Casually deflecting the sudden spears of darkness that shot at her, Fear glared at the cross and declared:

"I will destroy you, «Narrow Narrow Abyss»!"

"Isn't that a bit late to declare? ...Are you going that far even though we are clearly kindred, Fear-in-Cube?"

"Precisely because we are kindred! Your way of living is wrong, hence as kindred, I will destroy you to make things right."

"The way we see it—" "Your way of living is the one that's wrong."

Bivorio smiled wryly and Abyss did the same.

"Then how about you ask that gloomy darkness of yours and my sadism!? To see which side's cursed hatred is correct!"

While realizing the duel was reaching a climax, Fear sprinted along the corridor in a forward leaning posture. She sprinted singlemindedly. As the darkness hurtled towards her, she merely dodged with a slight turn of her face. Despite the feeling of a lashing cut on her cheek, she did not stop. Before the darkness could turn into whips to entangle her, Fear sprinted even faster. Using the momentum of her speed, she lightly lifted the Rubik's cube that was emulating her form—

"Mechanism No.30 blooming type, pointed form: «Flower Sword Verazella», Curse Calling!"

What manifested was a long and slender sword that resembled a spear. Particularly striking was its characteristic tip—The sword's pinnacle ended in a sharp point while the top ten-odd centimeters of the sword was shaped like a water droplet, or perhaps one should describe it as an egg's curvature. It seemed to refute the purpose of a sword's long and straight blade.

Aiming the sword's tip towards Abyss and Bivorio, Fear continued to sprint, sprint and sprint. The spears of darkness brushed past her shoulders and passed through her hair, but did not pose any reason for her to stop. Sprint—just run forward, full speed ahead!

"A suicide attack? Praise the Lord!"

"Abyss—Here goes!"

Fear closed in successfully. Bivorio swung the giant cross.

"—Nuaaaaaah!"

Fear mustered all her might and entrusted everything to the momentum of her sprint, making a thrust with the raised spear. The two weapons clashed intensely. Similar to all previous clashes until now, the impact was blocked by the darkness appearing in front of the cross—No.

This was different from before.

Fear pushed hard. Pouring forth the strength from her entire body, she pushed forward. She could feel through her hand the sensation of gradually penetrating the darkness. How's that—

"Abyss!"

"Hmm..."

"Ga... ah... ah...!"

Slowly and steadily, the tip of the spear-sword invaded the depths of the darkness.

A contest of strength without any technique. Gambling purely on penetrative power.

Because this was what Fear prayed for. Praying, praying, she continued to push forward with all her might.

Is it there yet? Is it there yet? Is it there yet—

Part 5

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Part 6

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Part 7

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Part 8

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Part 9

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Part 10

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