The Crisis World XX

Chapter 129: Second Phase

Arisu managed to heal a small portion of the people inside the dome thanks to her speech as well as aura. But unfortunately, it was not enough to cure everything.

Arisu could heal about less than fifty people with a single speech. Even so, there are still dozens to tens of thousands who are infected and exposed to the effects of brainwashing.

Arisu knew that it was far from effective, but since there was no other way he could do it then he would continue to do it. Just as he was determined like that, suddenly came another unexpected help.

In a messy and scarred state, Nigiyaka-san smashed into the unconscious Mei-senpai and Akihito-san. He carried a playing card with a picture of the Joker with a strange aura around him.

"What's this?" ask Herlin.

"I don't know, but the guy who caused this mess said the card could stop him."

"You met the person who made this mess?!" ask Arisu. He was closer to Nigiyaka-san who seemed to know something. "Can I ask him directly?" continued.

"Unfortunately it's impossible."

"What?! Why can't you?!"

"Please calm down, Arisu." Oukami calms down Arisu who looks rushed.

Actually I also wanted to meet him sooner and end this mess, but it seems like Nigiyaka-san has her reasons. "Don't you know who he is? He was the underworld's famous Assassin, the Katana who produced hellish heat and unstoppable explosions. The devil is immune to fire" said Oukami.

"No way, don't tell me you ...."

"Right, that's my nickname. My name is Nimis." Nigiyaka-san continued Arisu's hanging speech.

I know that Nigiyaka-san was famous when he was an Assassin before. But I didn't think he had a nickname, either. What's that cool nickname? I want to have one too!

What would fit me? The Chocolate Lightning? Or maybe Emerald is snatching? You know because when I was united with Cecilia back then, my hair turned green with electricity grabbing around my body. I think that's the one that suits me best. Hehe ....

I refocused on the current state, there was no time to think about such a thing at the moment. Arisu looked puzzled when she found out that people like Nigiyaka-san were here.

"Then what are you doing here? Do you intend to kill everyone here?"

"No. I won't kill anyone unless someone pays me, after all I join one of your bodyguards. So my job right now is to protect you."

"So then, you became one of the members of Black Rain, huh?" After being given his explanation, Arisu became calmer. I know there are still a lot of questions in his head about this, but he held it back and moved on to more important topics.

"So, what's in your hand? And why can't the people who made this mess we meet?" Arisu pointed towards the card held by Nigiyaka-san.

"I killed him."

"What?!" Everyone was shocked when Nigiyaka-san said that.

"He was in an organization with me under Heiwa Pharmacy led by Astaroth, but I got out and the three of us confronted him earlier."

"Then you killed him? Your buddy?"

"Friends? Even though I was in an organization with him, it doesn't mean that we're friends. Yes, even though the fight I did was quite difficult."

That's what I heard from him. In the underworld, no matter how close you are, there is no guarantee that we will be safe. Even killing each other can happen to them. Horrifically.

But either my imagination or what. I could see a glint of sorrowful eyes that instantly disappeared at the end of his sentence. Maybe it was just my imagination.

"Forget it, this card said it could stop this mess. Even though I don't know how to use it." Nigiyaka-san gave the card to Arisu.

He flipped the card and from his appearance it was just an ordinary Joker playing card. But to the Exception, they could feel a familiar aura on this card. The most auras are here— even in this city.

"It's not just my feeling, is it?" arisu said doubtfully.

"True, the aura on this card .. is the same as the aura that envelops the residents who are infected," continued Herlin.

I can tell if it's a real card. The aura created by humans is different and cannot be exactly the same except using a skill, so the card did come from the person who created all this chaos.

But I'm still confused, what does that card have to do and stop all this? What Arisu needed now was something that could make his aura and voice reach the infected people, so they would automatically recover. But he gave me that card.

"Ohoakhs!"

As I was thinking, we were all struck by someone who suddenly vomited blood and fell to the floor. His pupils pointed upwards and his body convulsed.

"Whoever quickly give medical help!" One of the White Cloud members examined the state of the person who had suddenly fallen.

After that in an interval of a few seconds, dozens of other people experienced the same thing. Everything fell like it was attacked by something. Caramel, who locked them in a transparent cube, then released them for further treatment.

But their vomiting of blood became uncontrollable, even one of them spewed blood onto the faces of the White Cloud members. After that he did not move anymore and his breathing stopped.

"The infection has a time limit? Before finally their bodies reach the limit ... and die?" arisu.

We who were near the stage couldn't do much, this incident took place too suddenly and ended so quickly that we didn't have time to digest what was really happening.

"We need to help them!"

"Wait!"

"What should we wait for again?!"

Caramel confronted Oukami who wanted to get close to those who had reached his limit. It seemed like he could sense something we couldn't feel, considering that the transparent cube was directly connected to him.

Caramel continued to pay attention to them— especially the White Cloud members who were hit by blood vomit. In the end, he reached a conclusion that made his eyes widen.

"Everything! Get on stage!" Suddenly Caramel yelled to warn everyone.

I still don't know what's going on. But Caramel's shout just now was a bad omen. I jumped on the stage as Caramel told me, while the others did.

Herlin also holds Mei-senpai while Ishikawa-san is picking up the unconscious Akihito-san. All of us and a few members of White Cloud managed to get onto the stage quickly.

The next step was taken by Caramel. He removed hundreds of tiny cubes that freed all those who were infected. After that he made a huge transparent cube that surrounded this entire stage.

"Do you want to explain what's really going on right now?!" Oukami looked very angry because Caramel did it without explaining anything to all of us.

After adjusting the breath, Caramel then explained it to us. "There was something strange before they died. The blood they emitted contained the same aura as that card."

"Then why are you keeping us all here?!"

"That's because—"

"??!!"

Before Caramel finished his words, the White Cloud member who was hit by the blood vomit on the face suddenly shouted and acted strangely. He held his neck as if something had entered his body and after that he stopped moving while standing.

"Oi?! You okay?!" One of his friends who did not get into Caramel's cube asked him. But no verbal answer was given to him. All he received was an answer using an attack.

His head was separated from his body before he even realized it. It was done by those infected White Cloud members. His consciousness was now completely gone and he was now acting as aggressively as anyone before.

"A-What? Exception ... can also be infected?" Oukami.

"We seem to have escaped the first phase, but after getting into someone's body. 'This 'Something' is becoming stronger and could affect Exception, and that is its second phase" Herlin explained.

"What?"

"Of course it's just my guess, but what we need to do now is find the card's usefulness."

"You still want to try to make use of that stupid card?! When my friends kill each other?! Are you crazy?!" Oukami approached Herlin and pulled the collar of his shirt. While Herlin's face was still ordinary and just stared at Oukami.

"Oi, Oukami." Arisu tried to calm her down but it didn't seem to work.

"Of course I sympathize with them, but I try to make use of the information. Because it's worse than I thought."

"That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"Okami, Katherine! Watch out!"

"??!!"

Behind Herlin it turns out that one of the White Cloud members is also infected and tries to attack Herlin and Oukami. They did not have time to dodge, but suddenly the person who attacked them was chopped into small pieces of meat while in the air.

"What ... are you doing?"

"If you keep wasting my time, maybe more of your friends will end up like him."

"Tch!"

Although it was difficult to accept it, but Oukami let go of Herlin's collar violently. After tidying it up again, Herlin then walked up to Arisu and gave her the card.

"A-what's up?"

"I've found the card function."

"Eh? Since when?"

"When the man attacked me, I realized something. If the card is actually an intermediary."

"Camprobat?"

"really. Your aura is unlikely to reach the entire city at any one time, even I doubt that Oita-san— who is much stronger than you can do it. That's where the card comes in handy, he'll be the go-between who gets your aura connected to the aura of this card which in other words is the infected people."

"So you're saying it's as simple as 'my voice gets to them, but not my aura'. That so?"

"If you conclude so .., yes."

"He's really great, huh?" Cecilia was talking inside my head. "He can think quickly and make very good use of the clues he has" he continued.

I think so too. Although I knew that the practice would not be that easy, but Herlin carefully guided all the information and clues he had in the right direction.

"But there's one problem that's quite troublesome."

"What's that?"

"Have you forgotten that there were some people you were aware of before?"

"yes too! How are the conditions of mere—"

Arisu just remembered that there are several tens of people who managed to escape the infection— I also forgot the truth. But his eyes widened when he saw their condition. The infected White Cloud members killed all of them brutally.

There's nothing left. At all. All of them were killed by the Exception who were supposed to protect them. Caramel's transparent cube wall that separates us is also full of blood splashes of the victims.

"It can't be ...." Arisu fell to her knees suffocating because it was too late to save them.

"I'm afraid the others will end up like them."

"Wait, wait, wait a minute. So you mean ... are we stuck here? They don't have much time either. Ordinary people will soon die spewing blood if it reaches the limit of his body, but if you heal them now, they will also be killed by the Exception." Caramel explains the difficult situation we have right now.

Silence attacked us all at this time. Sure oes. The situation is more complicated than we all thought, let alone we have a random time limit that risks the lives of innocent humans.

"Open the barrier." But I'm. Suddenly he was talking something ridiculous at this moment.

"Eh?"

"What?"

Of course everyone was surprised. But for me there is no time to doubt. I took out my sword that I put on my back. "Tetsu." Then call Tetsu out.

Tetsu then came out after I called. "You called me, Iraya?"

"Yes, I'm sorry to get you out, but we're short on people right now."

"Casual, easygoing. I've been used to being outside my host because of the housework I used to do at home."

"Totally so."

"Iraya, what exactly do you want to do?" ask Herlin.

"Simple, I will fight those Exceptions. You can help me by saving the citizens."

"But they number over a hundred people! Moreover, they were Exception who had already passed the difficult test to break into White Cloud!"

"Yes, continues?"

"Eh?"

"I don't know how strong they are, but all I know is I'm not alone."

Arisu seemed to realize it. He looked back and there were other Black Rain members. Ishikawa-san looks in disbelief, but I can see a smile on her face. Oukami also seemed to side with me and formed a morningstar with her aura.

"Remember one thing, Iraya. Don't kill them" Oukami said.

"I'll remember that."

While Caramel walked towards me and clung to me. "You know, I've always sided with this kid no matter what. So .. I'm sorry, yeah."

"Nigiyaka-san, what about you?"

"I'll stand guard here while waiting for the two of them to come to their senses. So just do as you please."

Arisu this time lost the vote. So he could do nothing and inevitably comply with our request. But I'm sure this is the best option rather than having to get caught up in endless confusion.

Arisu smiled a little but also looked grateful. "Geez, you villagers are really barbarians. I will heal them all, your job is to protect them!"

"Give it to us. Then open the barrier, Caramel."

Arisu took a few steps back to gain space. While we were all preparing on the sidelines, we had to be careful not to kill him.

I took out the bladeless sword hilt that I hung on my waist, then after that I flowed my aura there and created a green shining sword blade. While Tetsu was holding the Sword of Tetsu as usual. After being ready, suddenly beside me Herlin stood preparing to face forward as well. "Herlin?" call me.

"You're really stupid, you know?"

"Hehehe .. sorry, yes."

"But I will not forbid this stupid act of yours. Remember that as much as possible their blood does not enter your body even through wounds."

"I understand."

The Caramel Barrier slowly disappeared from top to bottom and Arisu's aura had also started to surround his body. He raised the card high by being clamped by his two fingers.

"Now everything ...." Me and Arisu subconsciously said the same thing.

"... Attack!"

"... Be aware!"

Once again a great and not short fight took place inside a dome filled with tens of thousands of people.

Seriate