Classmate wa Isekai de Yuusha ni Natta kedo, Ore dake Gendai Nihon ni Okizari ni Narimashita - Chapter 114

Chapter 114: The Ruin, Part 1 

“Haah!”

“Gyaaa!?”

I equipped twin blades of high-pressure, superheated water in both hands and slashed through the black humanoid entities gathered before me.

The humanoid figures screamed as their upper and lower halves were severed, then turned to dust and vanished.

“Aaaaaaah!!”

“!?”

Meanwhile, the giant puppet-like monster used the humanoid entities as bait to sneak behind me and attacked Kyori instead.

“Not on my watch.”

I conjured a massive ice hand from behind, grabbed the puppet’s long hair, and forcibly slammed it in front of me—taking the remaining black humanoid entities down with it.

“Aaah!?”

The huge puppet shrieked as it was crushed under the black humanoid shadows and slammed to the ground.

I then created countless ice pillars from the floor, immobilizing the monster.

Next, I summoned an enormous ice hammer, as big as a house, and brought it crashing down onto its head, shattering it.

“Aaah...”

The puppet groaned, spraying black liquid from cracks as it gradually froze in place, then turned into black dust and disappeared.

“Yaaah!”

“G-Giii!!?”

Nearby, the remaining black shadows were engulfed by flames cast from Kyori’s talisman and vanished.

Now, nothing stood between the crystal and us.

“I’m going to rescue Ikoma-senpai from that crystal. So, can I count on you for support?”

“…Yes! I’ll protect your back, Shuu-kun!”

“Got it. Then—”

Just as I was about to say “I’m off,” a sound like glass clashing came from where the crystal was.

Looking back, the Ikai Crystal imprisoning Ikoma-senpai trembled irritably and began wrapping the roots it had extended around objects in this space back onto its core.

Soon, it floated and started forming a humanoid figure much larger than the puppet monster, using the crystal as its head.

“Uuuu…”

Not sure by what principle, it growled.

Its gigantic legs—made of wood roots and concrete—kicked away remnants of the puppet monster still around.

From its head, the crystal’s light leaked like eyes and directed a menacing gaze at us.

“They left something like this behind...!”

Sweating, I formed a defensive water barrier while staring at the crystal that had turned into a colossal golem.

Its size dwarfed the puppet—probably over 20 meters tall.

Judging by its materials, defeating it should be possible.

The worry was whether it would negatively affect Ikoma-senpai trapped inside.

“Uuuaaaah!”

Suddenly, the giant golem grabbed part of its own body and hurled it at us.

The attack was blocked by my water shield.

No time to worry about collateral effects.

I had to prevent it from self-destructing and flinging the Ikai Crystal—Ikoma-senpai’s prison—at us.

“Aaahh...!”

The golem aimed its head at us again and threw another piece of itself.

Could this be...?

“Shuu-kun... what should I do?”

“Kyori, can you distract that golem’s head—the glowing part—with an attack?”

“I can... but...”

“Then do it in 10 seconds. Don’t worry about anything else.”

“Y-Yeah...?”

I gave the order and used water magic to generate a potion, recovering my MP.

Then I cast “Body Enhancement” on my legs, steeling myself to leap into the golem’s embrace.

“Uuuu...!”

The golem focused its head on me and swung its right hand to crush me.

“Not a chance!”

But Kyori’s low-powered foxfire hit its head, interrupting the attack.

“Ha!”

Seizing the moment, I jumped onto the golem’s left arm and sprinted up toward its head.

I enveloped my hands with massive water claws and began cutting away the roots and concrete encasing the Ikai Crystal, exposing it.

“Aaaah!”

The crystal violently shook and roared in fury.

It started to create a new head from roots and concrete, trying to engulf me too.

“No way I’ll let you!”

I transformed my water claws back into swords, destroying the bindings trying to restrain me, and reached out toward the crystal.

“Aaaaah...!”

Suddenly, the crystal stopped shaking and the roar died down.

A dazzling light burst forth.

I instinctively shielded my eyes but couldn’t stop the blinding brilliance, and my consciousness was swallowed by darkness—

---

◇◇◇

“W-Where am I...?”

I came to standing in the dim living room of the apartment.

By the furniture around me, it seemed to be the same room as before, but unlike then, the walls and ceiling were intact.

(First, I need to figure out what’s happening to me...)

Just as I stepped forward, I noticed a young girl sitting beside me.

She sat upright, head lowered, repeatedly saying “I’m sorry.”

Suddenly, phantoms appeared before us: a woman who seemed her mother, a high school girl, and a boy about her age.

They began speaking.

“Why can’t you do it like me!? You’re my daughter, aren’t you!?”

“...Ikoma? She’s just the errand girl, right? Don’t tell her I said that; she might throw a fit.”

“Hey, ghost girl! Heard your dad ditched you!”

“You’re disgusting! Go hide that face!”

“Wow, crying now? So lame!”

They all unleashed terribly unpleasant words on the girl.

And then I understood—

This was Ikoma-senpai’s trauma.

I was about to lose my temper and slash at the phantoms with my water blades when the scene shifted again.

Only the girl, now grown into the Ikoma-senpai I knew, and the woman, presumably her mother, remained.

“You absolutely must follow in my footsteps and become a doctor! You have to prove that person wrong!”

The woman yelled hysterically, blaming Ikoma-senpai, who still kept her head lowered.

I couldn’t stand it anymore.

I had to cut this off.

But then—

“You are not at fault. Wish with all your heart to destroy everything, and entrust it to me. — Starting with the man corrupting your mind.”

Suddenly, a black shadow appeared, embracing Ikoma-senpai, whispering sweetly in a woman’s voice while pointing at me.

A jade-colored crystal was embedded in its chest.

(Appraise.)

---

Appraisal Result:

Target: Embedded Thought-Inducing Device — Ikai Crystal [Curse]

Effect: By triggering traumatic memories in the holder, it induces destructive desires to maximize their power, eventually fusing the holder with the Ikai Crystal itself.

Status: Good.

Note: To nullify the target, the holder must strongly desire the target’s destruction.

---

So this thing was the cause of the abnormality—and what’s twisting Ikoma-senpai’s mind.

“Now, you only need to wish it. Wish to destroy that man. I will solve everything for you...”

“...Yeah, that’s right. I’ll entrust everything to you...!?”

Ikoma-senpai murmured absentmindedly, looking at me before suddenly widening her eyes in surprise.

“What’s wrong? That man is your enemy. A bad enemy who threatens your heart.”

“N-No, that’s not true. He cared for me...”

The shadow kept trying to manipulate her to break me, but Ikoma-senpai resisted.

(I don’t know if this will work. Still, it’s worth a try.)

Seeing them like this, I mustered courage and gently approached Ikoma-senpai.

“Senpai Ikoma. I don’t know exactly what you’re going through or how painful it has been.”

“I-Iori... you...”

“But Kyori, I, and even Bara are on your side. We want you to live somewhere sunny and comfortable, not some lonely place.”

“That man only says things that sound good. Come on, wish to destroy him.”

“I don’t want Ikoma-senpai to become a sad being who only thinks about destruction! So please come back! I won’t let your past trauma hurt you anymore!”

“I...”

Struggling with the shadows and my words, Ikoma-senpai wavered and suddenly lowered her head.

“Come on, Ikoma Juri. Wish for destruction!”

“...Yes, I wish. For your destruction.”

“Huh?!”

When she raised her face, her gaze wasn’t on me—but on the black shadow.

Then, the crystal in the shadow’s chest cracked and the figure began fading.

Seeing that, I lunged and tore the crystal from the shadow’s chest.

“Dispel!”

I spoke the words to end this abnormality as the crystal emitted white light that filled my vision—

---

← Previous Chapter | Next Chapter →

---