Chapter 551: Sweet and a little numb
Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Kurisu
All of the crocodile monster's giant tentacles were cut off by the golden bell. The wriggling tentacles smashed onto the ground and evaporated into mist.
A low roaring sound of pain resounded from within the bell. It sounded rather pitiful.
Seiji didn't even stop to make certain that the monster was dead and ran straight past the bell.
Every single second was precious to him right now. He didn't care one whit if this monster had died or not.
Mika felt like her entire body was burning up as if her blood had turned to boiling water. It was incredibly painful.
Her head was dizzy, her vision was hazy, and everything around her was nothing but a blur. She didn't even know if she was currently standing or sitting.
'Am… I going to die?'
This thought appeared in her mind.
Death.
The moment this concept appeared in her mind while she was in such a state, it transformed into a bottomless dark abyss!
'I'm so afraid.
'This is so terrifying.
'But… why… does this feel slightly familiar?
'The shadows of death, and the endless darkness… it doesn't feel like I'm experiencing this for the first time?'
In a dark and hazy realm that was simultaneously boiling hot and icy cold, Mika faintly saw various scenes.
These scenes were different from what she knew to be her memories. However, it felt as if they had really happened to her before.
Especially the scene of Seiji's expression of unbearable pain and endless self-blame seemed so clear as if it was deeply engraved in her mind.
'Seiji…'
Mika didn't know what exactly must have happened to cause Seiji to have such an expression.
But he indeed protected her from dying in the past.
Would he… do so this time as well?
He definitely would!
Mika believed in him.
'He'll save me, just like that time.
'Even if I sink into utter darkness, I don't need wo worry… because he'll definitely find me and save me!
'That's why I don't need to be afraid or despair.
'I just have to believe.'
"Seiji…"
Mika muttered the name of the person she loved as she gradually lost her consciousness.
"MIKA!!!"
A loud shout reawakened her consciousness that was about to completely fade!
"Seiji…"
Mika looked in the shout's direction and did her best to look for Seiji.
In her hazy vision, a familiar figure flew over to her.
This was definitely no illusion.
He really came!
The heat within her body reached an extreme at this point in time. It felt as if her very soul was burning up, to the point where maybe she would burn to smithereens in just the very next second.
But even so… even if she died, she wanted to do so in his arms.
Mika used the very last bit of her energy to reach her hand out to him.
Then, she sunk into darkness.
Something was wrong with Mika's condition!
A dark-red mist floated around her. Her hair became silvery and wild. Her body shape and face all changed as well.
Her legs became longer, her breasts became bigger, her skin became whiter, and her face was even more beautiful than before… To put it frankly, her beauty massively increased to an incredible level!
The long silver-haired incredible beauty had an almost ethereal aura about her. Since she had her eyes closed, it greatly reminded Seiji of what Sleeping Beauty would look like if fairy tales were real.
Seiji recognized this as the phenomenon of being in a state of high synchronization with one's bonded spirit! Just like how Rana Kirin was capable of transforming from a cute cat girl into a demonic mature cat woman.
Why did Mika undergo a state of synchronization?
The most likely possibility Seiji came up with was that Mika must have combined with Mashiro! As for why she combined with Mashiro, he had no idea.
Mika's body was incredibly hot to the touch. He figured that this was a side effect of the synchronization. How was he supposed to cancel her transformation?
"Yomi, what should I do about this?" he asked for help from the female spirit again.
"Try injecting some Mana into her," Yomi told him.
"Inject Mana?"
"Yes. It appears that this little girl collapsed due to lack of Mana."
Seiji immediately started injecting his own Mana into Mika.
The moment he started doing so, he felt a powerful suction force upon him! Her body was absorbing his power in a ravenous manner.
Before long, the dark-red mist around them became even thicker. Mika's long silver hair became even shinier, and her body temperature gradually started lowering.
Seeing that this was effective, Seiji continued to inject even more Mana into Mika.
At this moment, a monster that resembled a shark with legs attacked them!
"Get out of the way…!"
Seiji was right about to unsheathe his sword and defend when he witnessed the dark-red mist gathering into the shape of a barrier which blocked the shark monster's attack!
The next instant, the mist surrounded the shark monster's entire body and there was the sound of something shattering! The shark monster's body shattered right then and there and transformed into a mist that dissipated… no, was absorbed!
Seiji widened his eyes in surprise.
He didn't see wrongly at all. The shark monster transformed into a blue mist that then combined with and was absorbed by the dark red mist.
Was… the shark monster just devoured?
Mika… or more accurately speaking, Mashiro's power that was bonded to Mika's, devoured a Spiritual Creature?
"Yomi, what was that just now?"
"As you just witnessed, this little girl is capable of absorbing the monsters here. Still, it's another matter entirely whether she'll be able to control her own power," the female spirit told him. "Absorbing or devouring such a source of power can be quite harmful to one's body if you're unable to properly control the power."
Seiji understood it as the possiblity that this power could turn on the master.
"If she's able to control it properly while absorbing power, she'll be able to speedily become stronger, is that right?" Seiji inquired.
"Indeed, if she can control it, that is." Yomi reemphasized this particular point.
Was this power to devour Spiritual Creatures Mika's personal power? Or Mashiro's? Or a power that all Awakened possessed?
Seiji didn't feel like Mika counted as an Awakened since the source of her powers came from Mashiro. But judging from the current situation, perhaps she counted as an Awakened as well.
He already knew that Awakened were capable of becoming stronger in Spirit Worlds. As for specifically how they became stronger, he didn't know, but it seemed likely that perhaps other Awakened could also devour the powers of Spiritual Creatures here.
At any rate, he already confirmed that Mika was capable of becoming stronger in a Spirit World… With the prerequisite being that she was able to control her own powers.
Mika felt like she was slowly floating upwards from the bottom of a pitch-dark, icy ocean.
The ice-cold feeling in her body was gradually fading. The boiling heat within her body gradually diminished as well. Her consciousness slowly returned.
Something warm and gentle kept pouring within her body. It felt as if it was touching her very soul, which even made Mika feel quite comfortable.
After her consciousness became clearer, she finally noticed what this was.
This was definitely Seiji's power!
That was because this warm and gentle feeling… was incredibly similar to what she always felt from him.
'He really did save me from the darkness.'
Her sincere belief in him had been responded to. Mika felt like she was truly fortunate.
She wanted to always be with him forever… she didn't care about anything else at all.
That was the only thing she was thinking of and wanting right now from the bottom of her heart.
She gradually regained her vision.
She was slowly able to feel her body again.
The moment that she regained strength in her body, Mika hurriedly opened her eyes and saw the face that she had been wanting to see.
"Mika…" Seiji had a delighted expression upon seeing that she opened her eyes. "You just…"
Before he even finished speaking, Mika reached over and hugged him, lifted her face, and pressed her lips against his lips!
Seiji was quite astonished by her sudden action.
He felt something incredibly soft and slightly moist.
There were many descriptions of all sorts in manga and stories of what it felt like to kiss a girl's lips.
Seiji had no idea which were right and which were wrong. Nor had he ever thought about differentiating.
The moment he experienced a kiss for himself, Seiji's body froze solid and his mind went completely blank!
Since it was all too sudden for him, he didn't feel like this moment was particularly romantic. All he felt was… an indescribable wondrous sensation.
If he had to forcibly describe it, it was sweet and a little numb.