The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

The other Kannagi, the girl who also called herself Kannagi, told us so.

Her words made us look doubtful, but she kept a serious expression on her face.

.

"...... yes, that's right."

Normally I should be skeptical, but now that Kannagi has told me, it feels right.

In my dream, she seemed to be somewhat theatrical and strange.

But Kannagi in front of me now is natural and has a certain human smell.

<

"So you can move now that the dense magic floating in these ruins is gone, right?"

<

So it was that fake Kannagi that made Usato and the others move to another place.

"And what is this fake?"

A brave man's sword?

Leona, who is well acquainted with the armor of the heroes, asks Kannagi a question, wondering why he is not even a living creature.

"...... does it mean that an inorganic object has come to life?"

<>

Kannagi then pauses, but soon speaks the rest of the words.

.

"Evil dragon! ...... then ......!"

In order to seal the spirit of the evil dragon, the previous hero plunged a small sword into its heart.

Now Usato has it as a cage---but if the sword influenced the evil dragon, it can never be a good thing. ......!

"Huh?"

<>

"......"

<

Centuries of solitude.

Since he became self-aware, he has only seen other people's memories and knows nothing else.

<

"...... why is Usato here?"

<

"Connected?"

Kannagi replies to my mutterings.

>

So, he had only seen Kannagi's own memories and those of Farga, but now he had a chance to know the outside world through Usato.

<

"He said he was watching, huh?　What? Our past interactions?

>

Kannagi is instantly flustered when Nair stares at him.

She feels a little uncomfortable that she has been watched, but she doesn't blame herself.

"When did you wake up?"

<

So until then, .......

I feel a little sympathy for the guy I talked to in my dream.

"So, in the end, is it safe to say that the fake is someone whose ego grew out of a brave man's sword?"

Nair puts her hand on her forehead as if she has a headache.

To her, Kannagi's story must have sounded ridiculous.

Indeed, even if there is such a thing as magic, it sounds absurd.

>.

""......""

<<

Maybe my feelings and Nea's are the same.

I knew it, but I think Usato really attracts strange people.

"Then why did you have to go through all this trouble to ask for help?"

"Yes, it is. He's a simple guy. He'll act quickly if he's asked for help. Simple."

Ferrum, I nodded to Nair's point.

Basically, Usato is more of a good-natured guy than ......, and both Suzune and Kazuki are good-natured guys.

If you ask them for help, they will not hesitate to come to your aid.

However, Kannagi's expression remains gloomy.

>

"Distorted?　What do you mean?"

"Could it be that Usato and the others were sucked into the vortex ......?"

Usato, Suzune, and Kazuki were sucked in because you wanted them to do something to make them stronger to fight the Demon Lord?

So the golem was prepared by a fake.

What a lot of trouble.

<>

"What are you going to do to Usato?"

Nair was the first to react to these words.

She held her head in her hands and her face turned pale with agitation.

"...... lie, healing magic alone is bad enough, but light magic?　What's that, are you going to make more monsters into monsters......?"

Nair is in a state of shock, but I'm not going to go into that right now.

"And there's something else, isn't there?"

"What happens if Usato accepts light magic?"

Kannagi answers Nea's question.

<

"Wait, another one is ......... Usato's healing magic is ......."

.

""!?"""

Usato is not a healing magic user ...... anymore?

As I was too shocked to speak, Kannagi crossed his arms in front of me.

"What more is there to it than this?"

What else is there besides the possible loss of Usato's magic?

I listen to her words, understanding that the situation is worse than I had imagined.

<>

"You mean my ego would collapse?"

<<>.

Is this where the case of the evil dragon comes to a head?

How much more do you need to influence our journey, even after being released from the seal .......

<<< Honestly, I don't know what will happen to me if that happens. That's why I have to meet up with Usato and the others as soon as possible.

"Do you know where it is?"

At that time, the wall on our side was broken and someone entered with an electric shock.

I didn't need to foresee it any more to know who was coming, and I involuntarily pressed my forehead when I saw the freak--- Suzune---who leaped at Kannagi with his arms spread wide open.

"Oh, my Chemomimi!　I won't let you get away!

>

Suzune lunges at Kannagi, who lets out a serious scream that is not an act, but just slips through.

She lands on the floor, clucking her tongue, and tilts her head as she finally notices our presence.

"...... I guess that means we made it to the meeting safely!"

"I think Suzune needs to be hurt a little."

"How harsh at the beginning of the meeting!"

"Senpai!　What's the matter with you, you suddenly started running. ......"

Kazuki comes from behind Suzune.

Seeing this, Kannagi, who has regained his composure, puts his hand on his chest as if to suppress his palpitations and calls out to us.

>

I don't know, I'm starting to feel uneasy looking at him.

I wonder if Usato is really okay?

I wonder if Usato is really all right.

The power that flows from a brave man's sword.

I had a definite chill as it came running up my arm, and I immediately tried to let go of the sword, but for some reason, the cage hand holding the sword didn't move.

It's stuck to me like a magnet!　No, it's stuck to me!

If I don't do something, something irreversible will happen to me!

"Then!　Mnh!"

He swings his left fist and slams it into his right shoulder.

As the fist hits the joint area, his arm relaxes and his hand is forced open.

Aiming for that moment, I pull my sword out of Kannagi at once and throw the sword of the hero to the ground.

When I see it stuck in the ground, I stroke my chest in relief.

"---Phew, that was close."

I didn't want to believe it, but I knew he was up to something.

"Why did this guy suddenly punch himself ......?"

"Maybe that's it. Maybe he couldn't open his hand, so he punched his joints and forced them to relax.

How do you know?

He turns his attention back to the battle and looks back at Kannagi, who has drawn his sword.

She had been asleep and sealed up until a few moments ago, but now her upper body had risen.

"...... this is a human body."

She stared at her own hands in amazement, and touched her cheeks and body.

As soon as she noticed her left eye, which did not reflect light, she tore the sleeve of the kimono she was wearing and covered the eye with it like a bandage.

She turned her blue eyes to me, as she had done with Amako's, and smiled a smile befitting her age.

"Thank you, Usato!　I finally woke up!"

"......"

"...... Usato?"

I wonder what I look like now.

I should be suspicious of this person, but I'm not sure if I should be.

She tilts her head at my reaction, then looks at the sword stuck in the ground and comes out of the sarcophagus with a satisfied expression on her face.

She pulls the sword out of the ground with unsteady steps and holds it out to me.

"Here, here!"

"...... No, this is ......."

"This is yours!"

But if I touch it, won't I end up in the same situation ......?

The resonance of the cage continues.

"Kannagi."

"Hmm?　What?"

Tell me the truth. What's going to happen to me if I take this?

When I asked her this question, her face twisted into a blatant expression.

However, her face immediately turned apologetic, and she explained to me in a few words the side-effects, or rather, the cost, of receiving this "spark of light". He told me.

Apparently, when I receive this sword, I gain light magic and lose healing magic in exchange.

"But, you see, you lose the healing magic, but you get more powerful magic. ......?"

"......"

"Certainly healing magic is important to you. But if you have light magic and the sword of the brave, you can fight even against the Demon King. The demon tribe won't even be your enemy.

"......"

"Oh, you're angry, aren't you?　I'm sorry ...... for trying to get you to do it without telling you. ......"

Kannagi is instantly weak at my silence.

Her azure eyes seem to have turned dark and stagnant, perhaps because she is lying on her head.

As I am concerned about this change, Kanna-gui's shoulders tremble and she suddenly changes.

"If you take me with you, you can defeat the Demon King!"

"......!"

"He couldn't kill the Demon King because he left me!　If he had taken me with him instead of leaving me behind, he would have been able to kill him for sure and even destroy the demon tribe!"

"Kannagi, you are ......"

"So take me this time!　As a hero, to kill the Demon Lord!　Take me!

Something's wrong.

Her emotionally unstable words make not only me but also Koga and the others sense something is wrong.

Hesitating at the sight of her, even painfully, he asks her a question that is, in a sense, decisive.

"You are not Kannagi himself, are you?

"....... What?　No?　I'm Kannagi, right?"

"You don't have to lie."

"I'm not lying. I have memories. I have the memories of a brave man.

Her words could not have been more chilling.

The question had always been there.

I knew what she was by what she had said and done, and by the way she was reacting now.

I reach out my left hand to Kannagi, who is desperately trying to hold out the Nukimi no Katana to me. I see her expression light up when she sees my left hand, and with pain in my heart, I push the sword back as if rejecting it.

"I can't accept that sword."

"---What?"

"I need healing magic. That's why I don't need that power."

If Kannagi's words were true, then if I received this sword, I would have light magic in my hands, and like the heroes before me, I would have two heroic armors.

To be honest, losing the healing magic is not that important.

More than that, the words "destroy the demon tribe" made me feel a strong sense of rejection.

There are people like Gref and the others who are living peacefully, and there are children like Keira who are struggling to live with the hardships of their backgrounds.

It seemed wrong to just try to destroy them without understanding them.

"I cannot take the place of a brave man. That's why I can't take you as a weapon."

This boy saw me and the heroes of the past in the same light.

He wanted me to have light magic, to hold the sword of the hero who was probably himself, and to defeat the Demon King.

But that's impossible.

At my words, Kannagi fell back and looked down, clutching his sword as if in despair.

"Yeah...... yeah, I'm sorry. I understand. I know, you'd do that. I knew it from the beginning."

"...... sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. I'm already saved if I think about it. I'm finally in human form now, and ...... that?"

Kannagi turns his head.

When I tried to get closer to her to see what was wrong, she began to mutter something in a small voice.

What do you mean by being saved?　Am I already saved?"

"......Kannagi?"

"---What is my true wish?"

Just as Kannagi's right eye turned purple, she leapt out of the water at a tremendous speed and crossed my path.

Then, as if in a fluid motion, she pulled out her sword and stabbed it into Koga, who was behind me.

"......Gofu......!?"

"---What?"

What about ......?

Even Kannagi, who was the one who stabbed Koga, looked at his own hand with a startled expression on his face.

Caught completely by surprise, Koga vomits blood and falls backward.

Looking down at him, Kannagi smiles a distorted smile, a mixture of confusion and anguish.

"Te, te me ......"

"Uh, sorry?　But you're a demon, so you can die, right?　And you guys over there."

"Hey, Keira!"

Kannagi is about to swing a sword covered in Koga's blood at Keira.

Seeing this, Ciel hugs her as if to protect her.

Seeing this, I don't hesitate to throw a kick at Kannagi with all my might, but she avoids it as if she knew what she was doing.

"......Kuk!"

Did she predict my move?

I make sure she moves away from us, and then I approach to Kåga.

"I was wondering if I should help Kohga, okay?

"No, you can help him right there ......".

"Oh, thank you. ......"

We may be enemies, but we can't afford not to heal each other. ......!

Ciel rushes over to him, holding Koga's wound, which is rather serious, while talking to him.

"Mr. Koga!　Aren't you ashamed of being saved by an enemy healing magician!　Please comment on that!

"You're so excited ......!　I mean, this is ......."

Coga stares in astonishment at his hands while receiving treatment.

"They took the magic away from me. ......!"

"What ......?"

As I pour healing magic into the wound and try to heal it, Kannagi looks at me in surprise.

His eyes are still the same purple-black color.

"---Usato, why are you attacking me?　I don't understand!"

What are you saying, ......?"

Kannagi, who is appealing to us without even looking at the blood-soaked sword, does not seem to have changed.

He really doesn't know why he was attacked. ......?

"Do you know what you have done!　Kayla is an innocent child, not Koga!"

"Hey, don't whip the wounded ......."

"Are you the type of person who gets all faint-hearted when you're vulnerable, Mr. Koga ......?"

Not backwards!

Kannagi looks extremely puzzled at my shouts.

"But, getting rid of the demon tribe is not a bad thing. ......I'm sorry for now. I apologize.

"Really, don't you understand ......?"

"You know what?　I'm ...... me for that?　No, it's me, right?　Yes, I was created to destroy the demon tribe and kill the demon king. That's why I have to kill the demon tribe in front of me.

After she says these words, the color of her eyes changes from purple to azure.

"Hmm?　I don't have to do that anymore, do I?　But the Demon Lord is still alive, and so are the demon tribe. Huh?　No, that's not what I want. I don't want to do this ......?"

She holds her head in her hands with a sad look on her face.

I would have run up to her, but it's too dangerous to approach her now.

"All I wanted was for you to help ...... me."

"...... me?"

"Because you were the first real person I ever saw. I wanted you to help me, like Eva, Leona, Karon, Amako, Kanoko, Kazuki, Suzune, and Keira."

The color of her eyes flickered between azure and purple.

She brushes the blood from her sword, changing her words, actions, and emotions as if her personality has been replaced.

"But I have to destroy the demon tribe. I must kill the demon king. I wanted you to use me as a weapon until the end. But that wish will not come true. So it can't be helped, can it?

Her eyes change to dark, stagnant, purple eyes that remind me of an evil dragon, and she points the tip of her sword at Keira and Ciel, who are standing behind me.

"I have Kannagi's body, so I have to do this on my own, don't I?　Because you refuse to do it."

Black magic power similar to the dark magic of Koga overflows from the blade.

It flows out through Kannagi's arm and stains her clothes black.

"I will kill the Demon King. I will destroy the demon tribe. I will exterminate all creatures in human form from this world. That's why I was born."

I made the wrong choice.

I jumped away from her hand that cried out for help.

I was devastated by this fact, but I held my fists up to protect Keira and the others behind me.