"Still, I’m actually talking to someone from another world." (Doctor)
"You’ll get used to it fast. This isn’t my first rodeo being in another world." (Kaito)
As the Doctor had been secured, we sprinted towards the general direction of Amiya and her group guided by the Search Magic on my necklace.
Along the way I dispatched any Reunion sighted by throwing my hammer at them. The prone bodies left behind were picked up by Alyssa.
"And so strong too. You’re making short work of the enemy like it’s nothing." (Doctor)
"It’s rare to hear someone call me strong. Feels weird." (Kaito)
I felt the goosebumps on my skin and yanked the Doctor into a building to avoid the flying vehicles and debris skidding across the street from a nearby explosion.
"Everywhere at our every side there’s Reunion. It’s impressive how many there are." (Kaito)
"You can tell where they are?" (Doctor)
"In a general sense using my Sympathy Magic. A little bit of concentration and I can slightly pinpoint their exact locations." (Kaito)
Alyssa appeared next to us, peeking her head out of the corner of the building as a watchman to alert us of danger.
"Sympathy Magic… Is it like sensing people’s emotions?" (Doctor)
"Yup. It’s the magic I’m most talented at, sensing the emotions of others and experiencing it myself. There’s other uses like projecting my emotions onto others." (Kaito)
There wasn’t any immediate danger at hand, so I engaged in idle talk with the Doctor. I can’t see his expression behind the mask, but I can tell that his interest was piqued when he sighed in awe.
"Magic is convenient. And this extraordinary sensory power, is it possible to share it with others?" (Doctor)
His question made me raise an eyebrow.
"I haven’t used it in that way, but theoretically it’s possible." (Kaito)
My thoughts went to Eulpecula, the ten-tailed Mystic Silver Fox who inherited my Sympathy Magic when receiving my magical energy. She displayed incredible use of it with her immense talent such as linking others to herself and synchronizing with their actions.
I however do not understand where the Doctor was going with this. He must have read my thoughts and answered.
"Well, Rhodes Island’s mission is to cure the land of the ailments that have stricken it. We do not discriminate over who must be saved and who do not deserve it. Everyone, we are determined to help everyone who are desperate for hope." (Doctor)
It’s a difficult but beautiful mission. Idealistic sure, but it’s not enough reason not to try and walk on that path.
"I… I can’t say I fully comprehend the complete scope of what Rhodes Island is doing, but seeing Reunion’s reason for their madness was driven by Oripathy and the discrimination they had suffered, surely we could extend a helping hand to them. Convince them that there’s a better path." (Doctor)
"Hmm… that’s going to be unspeakably difficult." (Kaito)
"I know. But how else will anyone know unless the first step is taken. And—" (Doctor)
The Doctor looked to me intently with hope.
"I first need to understand their plight. To feel what it’s like in their shoes. If there’s a way where we can communicate as equals, I’m sure something can change." (Doctor)
"And that’s why you want to use my power for this." (Kaito)
My impression of the Doctor jumped up considerably. I was impressed by this man’s determination to reach out and provide help for these wayward souls even when he knew fully well they were obviously terrorists.
"I understand. Since you’re so keen on it, I can give it a try. I’ll act as an intermediary by receiving the emotions around us and projecting them to you." (Kaito)
The Doctor nodded with gratitude. He already braced himself for what was to come, the type to think several steps ahead it seems.
I tapped into my Sympathy Magic, feeling the abundance of a variety of emotions, bundled and meshed together like chaotic swirls of colors.
Feeling the weight and chilling sensation crawling around my body, I drove it towards the Doctor.
"……Augh!?" (The Doctor)
His body initially stiffened and went still until he coughed, dropping to his knees in pain and propping himself up with his hands.
I was already lowering my body to his height and stopped the transmission, putting my hands on his shoulders to comfort him.
"I knew it was too much, so I lowered the output to not let you receive everything. Just take a deep breath and relax." (Kaito)
The Doctor felt an intense migraine, grabbing his head and groaning in pain.
"It hurts so much. So this is what it’s like to feel someone else's emotions. They were… so strong. Gaahh!" (Doctor)
I was deeply worried from seeing the deteriorated state the Doctor’s mentality was in. While rubbing his back, I applied recovery to his mental fatigue through my Sympathy Magic.
The shaking of the Doctor’s body and haggard breathing stabilized. I took an easy breath when I felt his thoughts becoming more clear as the heavy burden in his brain was lifted.
"Huh? My head feels light again. It’s even better than ever before, as if I never felt the headaches from waking up to begin with." (Doctor)
"Good. I wasn’t sure about your mental state since the Fruit of the World Tree doesn’t cure your mental fatigue, so I opted to use my Sympathy Magic to interfere with your hazardous thoughts and emotions to heal them." (Kaito)
"Amazing… You can even do something like that." (Doctor)
The awe in the Doctor’s eyes grew.
"So, how was it? Did you gain anything from experiencing a part of what Reunion felt on a daily basis?" (Kaito)
"It was suffocating. It was like being submerged in quicksand and suffering a panic attack at the same time. Not only that, I was trapped in my own thoughts, feeling nothing but uncontrollable rage and sorrow. I wasn’t sure I’d ever return to sanity." (Doctor)
Even though the Doctor’s head was healthy again, he sure wasn’t having healthy thoughts. He looked up to me with scrutiny.
"You’ve been feeling the full force of these emotions, haven’t you? How are you still sane, or better yet stay composed like that." (Doctor)
"Hmm? Why you ask… Well, no disrespect to what these people have been through, but I faced scary individuals who can shatter people’s minds with their mere presence. Here it’s mostly like walking through static electricity. A bit numb at some parts, but not enough to pay close attention to." (Kaito)
And now I’m being viewed as a monster by the Doctor. He was awestruck by how I can keep a casual attitude even under the heavy pressure from the malevolent emotions from tens of thousands of people.
"Kaito, where you’re from sounds scary." (Doctor)
"What? Noo. Trinia isn’t that awful like you’re thinking. Trust me." (Kaito)
I chuckled at his misapprehension of my home. It’ll be better for him to experience it firsthand instead of hearing about it from my biased stance.
The Doctor got back to his feet and leveled a steely gaze with me.
"Back to important matters, it was quite a learning experience to listen to the hearts of Reunion." (Doctor)
"Oh, I bet it was." (Kaito)
"I’ve come to understand a lot of things, but I felt myself still missing out on a few things. Let’s not waste time and do it again, but give me the entire weight of it and don’t hold back. And if possible, try to heal my head simultaneously." (Doctor)
……I’m definitely looking at him like he was insane. No, he is definitely not right in the head for wanting to go back to experiencing that in mere minutes from recovering from it.
"While I commend your bravery, don’t you have any second thoughts about it? It’s not a healthy idea." (Kaito)
"Nope. I’m prepared to do this. If I’m going to heal the land, I have to be resolved enough to face this without stepping back in fear." (Doctor)
So he’s determined to follow through with his ideals and not cower from something like this. After musing on it for a while, I decided to respect his resolve over prioritizing his safety first.
"Alright, I’ll respect your choice. But let’s put it on hold for now as Alyssa’s beckoning for us to come inside the building." (Kaito)
I point my finger to Alyssa waving her hand from the corner of the building’s door. We followed her inside to give ourselves a little break.
Inside one of the rooms on the second floor, we found ourselves a table and some chairs to sit around in. Alyssa was briefing us over what she’s found.
"Okay, I’ve done a general make out of the city’s structure and pathways. Here is a map along with markings of where Reunion is including areas they’re mostly concentrated in. I also found a working vehicle for us to ride in." (Alyssa)
"Meticulous as ever. What would I do without you, Alyssa?" (Kaito)
"Hehe, go on and shower me with praises." (Alyssa)
Alyssa puffed her chest out, put her hands to her waist, and raised her head high proudly.
The Doctor watched all of this starstruck by my lover’s multifunctional talent. He clapped, impressed with Alyssa’s work.
"At this rate we’ll find Amiya and everyone without any issue." (Doctor)
"Yes, it’s almost smooth sailing from here. But there’s a few other problems to tackle." (Alyssa)
Alyssa’s face became serious and she raised two fingers.
"One, the catastrophe. Its sphere of influence is rapidly widening and fast approaching us. Two, Rhodes Island and the cream of the crop of Reunion are heading towards each other." (Alyssa)
The first was indeed a concern, but the second had both me and the Doctor startled.
"I estimate there’s a 99% chance of them meeting. It’s going to be an unavoidable battle between the Rhodes Island members that are spread thin and the main forces of Reunion." (Alyssa)
Alyssa finished gravely. The Doctor had a heavy heart from this news and I could tell he had an ugly expression under his mask.
"99%… Is Reunion leading Amiya and the others towards them?" (Doctor)
"Correct. They’ve been aware of Rhodes Island’s movements the entire time." (Alyssa)
"Then we should hurry up and rush over—" (Doctor)
"Hold your horses, they’re not in any immediate danger. I’ve got my clones following them to drag them out at a moment’s notice." (Alyssa)
The Doctor loosened his tense shoulders and settled back down in his seat, though still worried over his comrades.
"And it’s not just me, the other guy in the group chat, Minato-kun was it? He’s running straight into the middle of it with me guiding him to help." (Alyssa)
I widened my eyes at the mention of Minato-kun and the Doctor’s head perked up too. So he’s finally here, but is it a good idea to send him towards that kind of danger?
"So believe me when I say you guys can take this time to relax. My clones are observing the catastrophe’s movements. In the meantime, our princess is about to wake up." (Alyssa)
I raised an eyebrow in confusion at the mention of a princess. We don’t have someone like that with us do we? In the next moment, Alyssa took out Crownlsayer from her shadow. Oh, so she meant her.
"Why don’t we take this chance to interrogate little miss wolfy. I doubt we’ll get anything valuable, so you can have a go at her, Doctor." (Alyssa)
Alyssa proceeded to tie Crownslayer to a chair. I motioned to myself that I’ll be leaving the room to give the Doctor and Crownslayer some space. Alyssa followed along and we stood at the corner of the door watching and listening in.
"Ugh…" (Crownslayer)
The Reunion lieutenant stirred from her sleep. She roused herself awake and instantly turned alert. She tried to move and found her limbs bound to the chair, her fierce glare roamed around until she settled on the Doctor sitting across from her.
"You!" (Crownslayer)
"Strange how the tables have turned since an hour ago, huh?" (Doctor)
Crownslayer gnashed her teeth with eyes full of hatred. The Doctor met her hatred with composure and compassion.
"I just wanted to ask, but are you aware of how pointless your actions are? This will only damage Reunion’s reputation in the long run. It’s not the right way to find salvation for the Infected." (Doctor)
"Hah! What pretentiousness. What do you know of the struggles of the Infected, huh!? Those of you from Rhodes Island are traitors! You have no place to criticize us!" (Crownslayer)
Crownslayer’s eyes burned with fury, the venom in her voice palpable. The Doctor’s body language told me of his wry smile as he crossed his arms and looked down on the floor.
"I myself do not have much relation to the struggles of the Infected. But I can assure you that Rhodes Island is determined to pave a path for everyone to walk on. They are adamant, more than anyone, on creating a cure for Oripathy." (Doctor)
"I’ve heard it a hundred times. A thousand empty promises from others saying they wanted to create a cure. Nobody cares about us! Infected stick with the Infected, and only we have the power to change our destiny. Talulah knows and will lead us to where we really belong!" (Crownslayer)
"And her answer was to destroy. This will incur more discrimination against the Infected and damage what remaining goodwill the world has towards them." (Doctor)
"Then we should just do nothing and roll over and die? Wait for a cure that we aren’t guaranteed of for several lifetimes. How else should we use our wrath besides attacking back against our oppressors!?" (Crownslayer)
The Doctor tightened his grip on his arms and shook his head, lamenting at how misguided Crownslayer was. He lifted his head to look at her.
"I understand a small part of your anger, so I will not deny it or your suffering. However, you’ve misplaced where your anger should be. To drag countless innocents among your targets is a sin that can’t be wiped away." (Doctor)
"They are also responsible! For them to do nothing and further strengthen the discrimination against the Infected is unforgivable!" (Crownslayer)
"Have they? How can you be so sure of each one?" (Doctor)
Crownslayer grit her teeth and snarled. She had no apparent sign of mending her ways or feeling any sort of guilt that seemed almost unreasonable.
"This is going nowhere. They are in an impasse and won’t budge with their ideals at stake." (Alyssa)
"Do you have any suggestions, Alyssa?" (Kaito)
"True victory for the Doctor is to convince her that Rhodes Island’s ideals are more righteous than Reunion’s. There is also complete victory that will prove his ideals undeniable, and for that he needs to give her tangible hope rather than a vague one to dream of." (Alyssa)
Tangible hope is it… What Rhodes Island seeks is a cure for Oripathy. Thinking back, Scout had those black minerals growing out of his skin. I’ve seen them countless times on others, but mostly on Reunion.
"Oripathy is a unique condition in this world, Kaito-san. When a victim contracts it, minerals grow in and out of their body until they transform completely into Originium. Upon death, the body combusts and the Originium particles spread, further infecting others." (Alyssa)
"Okay, that is horrific." (Kaito)
I paled from imagining the awful fate of those who contracted the disease. And the scope of how they are persecuted by society… it makes me shudder.
Oh, but I did cure Scout’s Oripathy. Using the Fruit of the World Tree, it completely cured him of the disease. The Doctor could win if I just give him another fruit as tangible proof to Crownslayer.
The hand that I used to pick up my phone was grabbed by Alyssa.
"I know what you’re thinking, Kaito-san. But stop and think for a bit. If the Doctor were to present that fruit as hope, he would only be able to procure more only from you and not through any means from this world." (Alyssa)
…Yeah, she’s right. Thinking more rationally, I would have to ask Lillywood-san for more of the fruits to feasibly cure every single person that contracts the disease in this world. And it isn’t like it grants people antibodies, so they would still be susceptible to the disease again.
It’s an easy fix in the short-term, but it can’t be presented as the go-to cure everyone should seek. Not to mention its overwhelming healing properties that go above and beyond by healing all wounds including lost limbs. I don’t know what adverse effects it’ll have on this world’s civilization if it becomes over reliant on it.
The Doctor needs an alternative method, one which this world can create on its own to self-sustain itself.
"It’s too much trouble for Kaito-san and will take your time away from Trinia which is a big no-no for everybody. If you really want to help the Doctor, might I suggest searching inside that market from the group chat?" (Alyssa)
"I forgot this thing was here." (Kaito)
I felt my spirits raised again being reminded of the market’s existence. I quickly opened up the group chat app and scrolled through the market using the search bar.
"I suggest typing in keywords such as [medicine], [Oripathy], and [reproducible]." (Alyssa)
Heeding Alyssa’s advice, I redid my search and found other filter options. The one that caught my eye was the filter in the [reproducible] tag to show only the items that can be reproduced by the civilization of the current world I’m in. This thing’s mighty convenient.
I read through the description of the item that came out first in the search results.
[Defodiase], a two star item. It is medicine injected through a syringe that will force harmful minerals not acceptable to the body out of it and regrow the missing flesh and skin plus parts of the organ should the minerals grow from there. Ten shots come in a package.
This is the one! If given to a professional team, they should be able to reverse-engineer this on their own.
I attempted to buy it, but the popup message said I lacked the points to buy it. Just when I began to feel down another popup message appeared.
[We noticed you attempted to buy an item that went beyond your budget. As a prized patron with a rank 4 account, we are offering you a 100% discount coupon for your first purchase on the market.]
What convenient timing. And what a convenience it is being rank 4.
I didn’t hesitate for a second and used the coupon to buy the [Defodiase]. The item was sent to my mailbox. All that’s left is to give it to the Doctor.
[Singularity Found at the End]: If you’re seeing this message, I got you a cure for Oripathy.
[Zero Sanity]: Huh? Since when? You actually have one?
[Singularity Found at the End]: I bought it from the market. More importantly, I’m going to hand it over to you.
[Zero Sanity]: That is… I can’t express how thankful I am.
[Singularity Found at the End]: Don’t worry about it. I decided you’re fit to carry the responsibility of being your world’s savior. You don’t have to credit me in the future. I want to avoid the spotlight thank you very much.
[Zero Sanity]: I’ll live up to your expectations, I promise.
[Singularity Found at the End]: Why not try it out on Crownslayer? There shouldn’t be any issues that come with using it.
The Doctor should be finishing up his debate with Crownslayer. I saw the pack of medicine appearing in his trembling hands. There was a syringe that came with it and the Doctor planned on using one of the shots on her.
Crownslayer’s wariness rose at the sight of the syringe. She shook in her chair in protest of receiving it.
"What are you planning to do, you bastard!? You’re going to inject me with truth serum? Or use some other drug!?" (Crownslayer)
Fear and apprehension colored Cronwslayer’s face as the Doctor approached. I gestured for Alyssa to keep her still and she went in the room to hold her in place.
……Watching this feels wrong. Disregarding us violating ethics such as administering an unknown drug against her will, Alyssa presented Crownslayer’s exposed arm to the Doctor.
Despite her best efforts to resist, the medicine was successfully injected into her body. The hatred in her glare did not wane in the slightest, just mixed with anxiety over what’s going to happen to her body.
The first sign was the shards of black crystals falling from her skin. The skin quickly healed and sealed up the scabs, leaving faint discolorations as traces from where the Originium was.
Crownslayer groaned in pain as Originium shards buried deep in her skin were pushed to the surface and fell off, the wounds patched themselves up as fast as the shards moved.
"What happened to my body? Why did the Originium come apart?" (Crownslayer)
Crownslayer widened her eyes and her pupils trembled in stupefaction.
"This is hope. It’s not an inhibitor, but actual medicine. Rhodes Island will heal this land for certain, with this to pave our path forward. You can still make choices and decide whether you want to embark on that same path as us." (Doctor)
The Doctor supplied helpfully, not fully understanding the weight of what he saw himself as someone that had amnesia.
"Eugh… ahh…" (Crownslayer)
A soft sob escaped Crownslayer’s mouth. Witnessing her own Oripathy cured had moved her to the point of tears as she hung her head, the tears softly landing on the floor.
Alyssa appeared right back to my side outside the room in a snap. The sounds of the girl’s relieved sobbing echoed in the building.
"Congratulations, Kaito-san. This is both yours and the Doctor’s victory." (Alyssa)
"Mm. If I want any of this to remain meaningful in the future, I’ll have to bolster my efforts in escorting the Doctor out of Chernobog." (Kaito)
"It’s nice to see you so motivated~, my heart couldn’t help but throb. Although, we’re still left with the catastrophe." (Alyssa)
Right, can’t forget about that.
"Don’t worry, I've been charging for a while using Kuro’s magical energy. It’s my first time, but I should still be able to blast away the entire thing on our way." (Kaito)
"Uwaah, that’s going to leave everyone nearby with the chills later. Well, I’ll follow along with whatever you do." (Alyssa)
Our break time is about to end soon. We gotta prepare ourselves to move again.
"So how’s that vehicle you found…" (Kaito)
Afterword:
???: "Oh my, the existence of a cure for Oripathy in Terra is going to shake up a lot of things. As expected of Kaito-san~."