Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 15 - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Those Who Surpass Miracles

The black monster responded to my call.

It slithered my way.

An honest response. One could even call it obedient.

It looked different from her, but the way it crept across the ground reminded me a little of Lily. Lily’s true form was large, but this one was even bigger. Its hue was also ominous, giving it an intimidating air. Above all else, the mana it exuded was terrifyingly dense. Honestly, I’d never felt anything like it, even including visitors.

It was a true monster. It wasn’t strange for it to have easily defeated Harrison’s group. However, even as such a dangerous presence drew nearer to me, I didn’t feel any fear.

I didn’t feel like I was in danger, after all. There wasn’t the slightest hint that it was going to attack me. Even though it was responsible for this terrible spectacle, it was so peaceful now.

“Aah...”

I should’ve felt relief, but all that was in my heart was a sense of loss.

“It really is you, Katou.”

The monster got closer to me, but showed no other reaction whatsoever. It simply approached. And yet, the feelers swaying about it seemed to remain vigilant. If anyone appeared to try and cause me harm, it would surely exercise its authority without mercy. It had in fact already annihilated Harrison’s group. Considering its apparent docility, if I moved, it would surely follow and protect me. If I gave it simple orders, it might even follow them. This monster’s simple presence guaranteed my safety.

That was sure to apply even if I left this place. It would definitely protect me from any and all danger. The fathomless strength I felt from this monster surpassed that of all other visitors. Just maybe, it could even contend with the exploration team. If looked at as a guard, it had no peers. It existed only to protect me. A certain type of person might find this wonderful.

However, it was completely different for me. I simply couldn’t accept it. I didn’t want to think about losing her. My quivering lips called out to her.

“Come back to me, Katou.”

So long as her sense of reason was gone, she wasn’t going to come back. In that case, I just needed to get it back. The only way to do that was to keep talking to her.

“Please open your eyes.”

I called out to her again. The monster simply stood there.

“Katou.”

I reached out and touched it. The monster simply stood there.

“Katou.”

I called out to her. Over and over, I kept calling out to her. However, the monster simply stood there.

“Katou...”

Naturally, my voice never reached her.

◆ ◆ ◆

I already knew.

As she was now, she wasn’t in a state to answer my call. Nevertheless, I’d bet on a ray of hope and had flung myself into this room. I hadn’t been able to help myself. And here was the result. No matter how much I wanted it, a miracle wasn’t going to happen.

I already knew.

If such miracles existed, Katou would never have gone through that hell the day the Colony fell. There were no miracles in this world. We only had reality. Regardless...giving up was one thing I couldn’t do.

“Master.”

Salvia’s call reached me. She lived inside my body because of our contract, so she’d been able to come with me when I used the teleportation runestone.

“Ssster...”

Obviously, the same went for Asarina, who purred anxiously as she timidly came out of the back of my hand.

“How does Katou look to you?” I asked.

“There’s no mistake, she lost her heart...” Salvia answered, looking at both me and the monster with a heartbroken expression.

I withstood the urge to fall to my knees powerlessly. I felt as though it would truly be over if I allowed my resolve to crumble. If she lost all sense of reason and her heart died completely, this tremendously powerful monster would be her gravestone. If I collapsed and grieved for her, that would be like admitting it was over. That was why I endured the pain. I didn’t give up. I couldn’t give up. However, there was nothing left I could do.

“Your voice isn’t reaching her?” Salvia asked.

“It’s no good. It’s hard to tell because of how quiet she’s being, but I think her state is pretty similar to when Shiran turned into an undead monster at Fort Tilia.”

“The same as Shiran...” Salvia muttered. “In that case, can you do the same thing you did for her?” There was the faintest hope in her voice. “According to what I’ve been told, you connected with Shiran through the mental path and pulled her heart back to the surface, right? Can’t you do the same thing now?”

That happened during the attack on Fort Tilia. I’d used the mental path to retrieve Shiran’s heart after she turned into an undead monster and lost all sense of reason. If I could do the same thing here, I could bring Katou back too. Salvia was correct...but that was only if I could do the same thing.

“It’s useless,” I groaned. “Shiran turned into an undead monster, but Katou is different.”

“Different how?”

“She’s a monster, but not a monster. Her form has changed, but she’s still human, just like the Mad Beast and the Dragon.”

I hadn’t been able to connect with the Mad Beast through the mental path. I’d never met him, but the same probably went for the Dragon. Katou’s ability was the same type as theirs.

“My ability is only capable of connecting to the hearts of monsters. It doesn’t work on humans... It doesn’t work on Katou.”

That was why I couldn’t save her. I didn’t say that part aloud. I didn’t intend on giving up yet, after all. However, I didn’t feel as though I was going to come up with something that would work. If it were simply a matter of being unable to reach her or lacking in some way, I would probably work something out. I was ready to put in as much effort as I had to. I was ready to pay any price I had to. But if there was no objective for me to reach out to, then what was I supposed to do?

“Master.”

I was at a complete loss. I didn’t even have the energy to reply to Salvia’s call. After being sent to this fabricated world, I’d continued struggling without giving up. But right at the very, very end, this was what awaited me. Harsh reality stood right in front of my eyes to block my way. I couldn’t do anything about it. It was always like this. There was nothing I could do on my own against reality.

“Master!”

That was why I needed companions to help me, hand in hand.

◆ ◆ ◆

Salvia called out once more and reached out. Putting a hand on each of my cheeks, she pulled me closer to her, her sincere eyes peering right into mine.

“S-Salvia?”

“Even so...” Salvia said, her eyes unwavering. “Even so, I think you can do it.”

“Salvia...”

“This is you and Mana we’re talking about, my dear. I’m sure your hearts can be connected.”

Her declaration was firm and clear. She had nothing to base it on. Still, it wasn’t complete nonsense. There was something in her voice that made me believe in the possibility. Perhaps it was instinct. My mind didn’t understand, but my senses did. Even if I couldn’t verbalize why, I had conviction. This definitely wasn’t nonsense.

After all, Salvia had once taken me into her misty world. It was a miraculous place that granted dreams for just a short while. Naturally, to create such a world, she possessed the power to read dreams. In other words, she knew exactly what mine was.

Dreams were also directly linked to a visitor’s power. Since Salvia was always watching over me due to our contract, she was capable of speaking with such confidence.

“You can do it, my dear.”

She let go of my cheeks. As if guided by her, I turned my focus to the monster once more. I reached out and concentrated on the sense only I possessed. That was when I realized.

“This is...”

Obviously, it was impossible for this to be a miracle.

◆ ◆ ◆

“It might be a misunderstanding. I’m just discussing the possibility,” a boy said, his voice resounding through an enormous room.

This was where Kudou Riku, his servants, and Kaneki Mikihiko had been left behind.

“Just as you know, the abilities we visitors possess come from our wishes. For that reason, no matter what you do, there is always an unconscious influence on them, be it a complex, preconceived notion, or a misunderstanding.”

Kaneki Mikihiko was receiving emergency aid from Dora. During that time, Kudou Riku spoke on a whim.

“Yes, a misunderstanding. That’s why it’s important to really know what your own wish is. If you have it wrong, your ability will never manifest to its true potential.”

“Why are you bringing this up?” Mikihiko asked.

“It simply brings a question to mind. What exactly was Majima-senpai’s wish?”

“Takahiro’s wish?” Mikihiko furrowed his brow. The answer to that just seemed so obvious to him. “Isn’t it to continue living in this world with Lily and the others? That’s what he’s been giving his all for this whole time.”

“No, you’re wrong,” Kudou said, shaking his head. “That in itself is true, but that’s not what I’m referring to. I’m asking what wish manifested his ability.”

“Hm? Hmm? How is that different...? Wait. Hang on. I get it.” After a short moment of confusion, Mikihiko figured it out. “That doesn’t fit chronologically, huh?”

Majima Takahiro had only gained something dear to protect Lily and the others after his ability manifested. Naturally, the desire to live in this world with them could only have come afterward too. His desire for something was different from his desire to protect something. Kudou Riku was asking about the former—the more fundamental part of his wish.

“You’re asking what he wished for when his ability manifested,” Mikihiko said.

“Yes. Depending on what it was, a possibility might exist.”

“Why didn’t you tell him that?” Mikihiko asked, scowling at the younger boy.

“Because it’s only a possibility,” Kudou answered, shrugging. “Besides, just knowing about it won’t make it so simple. A preconceived notion can’t be overturned that easily. I know that better than anyone.”

He flashed a self-deprecating smile. The Demon King’s wounds were deep and weren’t going to heal for all eternity. Berta cast her eyes down at the thought.

“Knowing of the possibility and failing hurts far worse than never having a chance at all,” he continued. “Just maybe, it’d be enough to break him.”

“That’s why you didn’t say anything?”

In truth, Kudou’s hesitation was born of concern.

“At any rate, he’s already gone,” Kudou said. “We won’t make it in time even if we try to chase him. Before any of that, we should be doing what we ought to.”

“And what’s that?”

Kudou Riku nodded, then turned his eyes away for a moment.

“Now that it’s come to this, I won’t be able to stop you. I pray that you manage to take back what you wish for, Senpai.”

◆ ◆ ◆

It really was the faintest of connections. If not for what Salvia had said, I surely wouldn’t have noticed. However, a definite connection had taken shape—one between Katou and me.

“How...?”

I thought it was impossible, but it had actually happened. In other words, what had actually been wrong was my perception.

“I misunderstood my own ability...?”

Now that I thought of it, I’d never really considered the possibility. What exactly was my ability? It seemed so obvious that thinking about it was a useless exercise. However, at this point, there was a need to do exactly that.

I tried getting things in order first. I was a monster tamer. Using the mental path, I had the power to form a connection with a monster’s heart. To a select few special monsters, ones who had a budding heart, a connection to the mental path urged it to sprout, essentially “granting them a heart.” As a result, the monsters who became my servants—something which was entirely of their own will—ended up creating a situation where I “led monsters.”

In other words, “granting monsters hearts” and “leading monsters” were phenomena brought about as a result of my ability, not my ability itself. At its core, my ability was the power to form a connection with a monster’s heart.

So I believed, at least. If I was misunderstanding something, it’d be this fundamental part—the true nature of my ability, the manifestation of my wish. If there was something to misinterpret there...

“What did I wish for...?”

I remembered, of course. That marked my beginning in this world, after all. Inside that cave I ran away to when the Colony fell—betrayed, trampled over, suffering, and dying—when I despaired at humanity being composed of nothing but trash...

“Someone save me.”

I still prayed. I believed in no one, but I wanted someone by my side. I wanted to trust someone.

“Ah...”

Back then, Lily had responded to my feelings. It just so happened that a monster had been the one to form a connection with my heart. And since I no longer believed in humanity, I’d never thought of opening my heart to humans. So what if I’d misunderstood all this time?

Forming a connection with a monster’s heart was nothing more than one facet of my ability. If the true nature of the power I had gained was the ability to connect to the heart of anyone who would stay by my side with no conditions...

“I can connect to a human’s heart too...?”

There was distinct bewilderment in my voice. It was so late for me to realize this, after all. Even if I had been using my ability in a very limited manner, so long as I was under that preconception, my ability had been nothing more than “the power to form a connection with a monster’s heart.” A visitor’s power was greatly influenced by that manner of unconscious thought.

It’d be one thing if I’d been using it arbitrarily, but this power was my bond with Lily and the others. I’d been treating it so dearly, which had only strengthened my mistaken understanding of it. To overturn that notion, at least at this stage, would be extremely difficult. If handled poorly, I was actually liable to lose a grip on my ability.

To the very end, I was nothing more than someone who possessed the ability to form a connection with a monster’s heart. That didn’t change.

“However...”

I shifted my attention to the black mass before me.

“This is the one and only exception.”

Yes, it was just as Salvia said.

“Even so, I think you can do it.

“This is you and Mana we’re talking about, my dear. I’m sure your hearts can be connected.”

Just as she implied, there was already a connection. This was no miracle, of course. There was no such thing in this world.

Even if she wasn’t my servant, she was special to me. It had nothing to do with being a monster or a human. This connection existed because of the deep bond between us. The time we’d spent together, the feelings we had, the relationship we’d nurtured; all of it surpassed the realm of miracles.

Because I felt this way, I even overcame my unconscious preconception, and the presence of what was connecting us grew more substantial. This connection became the thread that would guide me to her lost heart.