"…Huh?"
"Woof…?"
"Fugo…?"
The "Evil" entered my body and the dangerous presence swirled within my body, but it subsided in an instant. And the next thing I knew, nothing happened.
I had Akatsuki remain on standby with [Sanctuary] in case something went wrong…
"Maybe… I don't need it…?"
"That's right! I can't believe there are people like you in this world! God damn it…!"
"Eh!?"
Suddenly, I heard the Evil's voice from earlier, and I hurriedly looked around, but I could not find it. Then suddenly, I felt as if the inside of my body was being struck.
"W-what is actually happening?"
"That's because I'm here!"
"Eh, inside of me!?"
"That's right."
Ah, that's right. I'm the one who let it into my body.
"Uhm… I'm kind of scared. Would you mind if I ask Akatsuki to use his skills to purify you?"
"I don't want that. Why should I choose to disappear voluntarily?"
Well, no one wants to disappear, do they? I don't know if I can call it a person though.
While I ponder about that, the Evil shouted in a shifty manner.
"Keh… I thought I would take over your body from your soul, but I couldn't do anything with a soul that didn't harbor any negative emotions. I'd rather be inside that woman lying there…"
"Ah, right… Yuti!"
The Evil's words reminded me of Yuti's condition, so I rushed over to her. After a short groan, she quietly opened her eyes.
"Mmm… where is this…?"
"It's in my house garden. Are you okay?"
"…Affirmative. My body aches a little. But I feel better than before."
Yuti inspected her body as she struggled to stand up on her feet. Then, when I explained to her about the events with the Evil that had just occurred, she said…
"Understood. The black mist, a piece of the power of Evil. I wanted to take revenge on the Evil, and the Evil sensed it. So it came out of my body."
"I-I see…"
"Question. Is that power inside you now?"
"Well, yeah."
When I answered, Yuti's eyes widened, and then her expression immediately clouded.
"Worried. Are you okay…?"
She looked up at me with a somewhat anxious look.
I wish I could reassure her, but…
"To be honest, I don't know. There's nothing unusual at the moment. Although that Evil talked to me from inside my body, it seemed to have failed in taking over my body. I mean, is it really possible for an Evil to talk to you when it is inside your body?"
"Affirmative. I heard that voice all the time, too. I kept hearing that voice telling me I should take revenge on humans, that I should hate them, etc…"
"Whoaa…"
It must be sickening to hear those voices all the time.
"Result. I couldn't ignore the voices. And I couldn't suppress my revenge."
"Well… if it's being this loud, I guess I can't ignore it either."
"What do you mean by too loud?"
That's what I mean.
However, it seemed that Yuti could not hear the words of the Evil, and she spoke with a serious expression.
"Prediction. It has been inside of me for a long time. Perhaps that's why it took on my shape. It is now inside Yuuya. It will call out to you."
"I see…"
The Evil's power has been inside Yuti for a long time, so maybe Yuti's form was the easiest for it to create. Even so, while that form was a complete replica of Yuti with minor changes in hair and eye color… it could be made to look much more human.
When I thought of such a trivial thing, Ouma-san came out to the garden while yawning.
"Fuwaahh… somehow, there's something strange going on here, Yuuya."
"Ouma-san."
Ouma-san started calling me by my name since he started loitering at my house. In the beginning, he called me "kid," "you," and quite a few other names, so I'm kind of moved by the change…
"I used to smell the Evil from Yuti before… but now I smell it from Yuuya. What the hell did you do?" asked Ouma-san while sniffing me.
"That's…"
Although I told Ouma-san about what just happened, he didn't seem very interested and gave a big yawn.
"Fuwaahh… Good grief, those Evil bastards only do unnecessary things. What do you think, should we just go and destroy them?"
"Oy, could it be that… that guy is the legendary dragon…!?" said the Evil with a surprised voice.
"Huh? What about it?"
Then, I noticed that the Evil who was so noisy inside me before had been very quiet in front of Ouma-san. So I involuntarily called out to the Evil inside me, and it replied with an impatient tone.
"Y-you! It is not fair to call on the legendary dragon! Or rather, the legendary dragon really exists!?"
"Not fair, you said? …Well, I can only say that it does exist. As I don't know what the Evil is planning, it can't be that big of a deal when Ouma-san is by my side, right?"
"Ouma? No one thinks that the legendary dragon actually exists!?"
That's not surprising. We thought so too at first.
While I'm talking with the Evil, Ouma-san turned his back and went back into the house.
"I'm just kidding. I'm not going to go through all that trouble. I don't give a damn about human circumstances."
"What do you mean you don't care?"
"But if you try to mess with this house, I'll… think about it."
"Ouma-san…"
I hadn't expected him to say that, so I was unexpectedly touched as Ouma-san left quickly, looking embarrassed. Then, just before entering the house, Ouma-san seemed to remember something. He turned around and called out to me.
"Yuuya."
"Yes?"
"Don't let that Evil take over your soul."
"Eh?"
"If you're captured by it… You'll die."
"Eehh?"
I-I will die? No, I know it's a dangerous power, but…!
While I was surprised, Ouma-san snorted.
"…Well, if you know how to use it, you can get stronger. At the very least, you should make an effort to use it to your advantage."
After saying that, this time, Ouma-san entered the house.
"I can use it, you said… eh, how can the Evil power be used to my advantage?"
"Hah! Who would want to be used by you…!"
"Excuse me! Ouma-san, this Evil is…"
"Yes, yes, I understand! Of course, it'll be up to you, but it seems like some people can master it."
Oh wow. To my surprise, the Evil power seems to be something I can use at will. Even so, it's convenient in the sense that I can make it cooperate in a straightforward manner just by mentioning Ouma-san's name.
"You're a demon… or rather, you're a fraud… How can your soul be so white with that attitude?"
I don't know about that either.
Putting aside the curses that the Evil is spitting out, I asked Yuti.
"Ouma-san said that I can learn to use the power from the Evil… Do you know how?"
"Unknown. I know how to activate it. But I can't use it. It's out of control."
"Then can you tell me how to activate it? I feel like it's better to know in case of an emergency…"
When the original owner of this Evil power, the so-called main body, attacked us, I could do nothing with my current power alone. Therefore, it's important to know about this power to prepare for this threat in the future. And if the Evil power inside me goes out of control, I might be able to restrain it with my own power.
These days, in addition to the usual muscle training and practice with Master Usagi, I've been doing many things, like the [Magic Attire]. Now I'll even be adding another training to master the Evil power…
To be honest, I don't know how much time I have left today. But considering the events that occured, I was indeed tired.
Yuti was supposed to accompany me in my training, but I'm worried that having lost the Evil power might affect her in some way, so I think we should just rest for the day.
Just as we were about to enter the house following Ouma-san, something suddenly fell from the sky into my garden.
My garden had some kind of barrier put up by Sage-san, so whatever fell was supposed to be harmless to us, but…
We were startled by the sudden intrusion, but when the dust cloud cleared, a familiar face appeared.
"Master Usagi!"
(It's been a while.)
It was Master Usagi, who we hadn't seen for a long time. Master Usagi tried to approach us, but sensing that something was off, he distanced himself from me.
"Eh, Master Usagi?"
(…Answer me. Why is there a presence of Evil coming from your body?)
I cringed from the tremendous killing intent from Master Usagi, but Master Usagi shifted his gaze to Yuti and gave her a suspicious look.
(Hmm…? Why is the presence of Evil drifting out from Yuuya, but the presence of Evil in Yuti has disappeared?)
"T-that's…"
I managed to endure the pressure from Master Usagi and explained what had happened.
Then…
(Hah… you are the most idiotic person in the history of humanity. How can you offer yourself…)
I had no words to reply.
When I thought about it, I could have done more. But the spur-of-the-moment decision to give myself up can be called a stupid move. But I didn't agree with being the most idiotic person in the history of humanity.
Master Usagi sighed as he erased the intimidation he had been directing towards me.
(You haven't even mastered a single power yet, and yet you keep trying out new things one after another.)
"You are absolutely right, sir."
(…Though what was unexpected was that the Evil power that entered you couldn't do anything to you. This can be considered good news. If you can master its power, it will undoubtedly help you. But don't let it steal your soul.)
"I-I'll be careful…"
I can't begin to imagine what kind of situation would let the Evil power take my soul, but I'll be careful. As I was reminded of how vicious and difficult it is to handle this power inside, I suddenly asked something that caught my attention.
"Speaking of which… did you come here for something?"
(Hmm? Ah… well, I had some business around here… so I wanted to drop by and check on you.)
"Business?"
(…There's no need for you to worry about it. Just work hard on your training.)
"Yes…"
I don't really understand, but if he says so, I shouldn't ask about it.
Well, as long as Master Usagi was aware of the situation, there's probably nothing wrong. As soon as I came to this conclusion, Master Usagi turned his back on me.
(Well, sorry for the interruption.)
And then he jumped up into the air, and just like before, he used the air as a foothold and flew away.
＊＊＊
(…..)
After leaving Yuuya's house, Usagi moved about in the sky above the Great Devil's Nest for several days. And as he moved through the air, he recalled a certain piece of information which was the reason for his visit this time.
(Fist Saint…)
The "Fist Saint," who also bore the name of "Holy," had fallen to the "Evil," and at this very moment, he was still continuing the "Holy Hunt" to kill the "Holy" one after another.
Usagi, who was the top of the kicking world as the "Kicking Saint", had always competed with the "Fist Saint" who was the top of the hand combat world. In order to stop this, Usagi was on his way to find the "Fist Saint."
And now, it seems that the" Fist Saint" has also been looking for Usagi and was informed that he was in this "Great Devil's Nest." That's why Usagi spent many days looking around the vast land of the Great Devil's Nest from the sky, searching for the "Fist Saint."
After moving around in the sky for a while, a tremendous killing intent struck Usagi suddenly.
(Ugh!)
In response to that killing intent, Usagi stopped abruptly by unleashing a powerful kick against the direction of movement to change directions in midair. And then he plunged at breakneck speed at the source of that killing intent.
And then──.
(──Gilbert.)
"──Yo, Usagi."
There stood the "Fist Saint"── Gilbert Fister, with a fearless smile on his face.