Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

If you have to face that kind of thing every moment, it's better to never see it at all!

Just as she was about to stab him—

"I met a girl on my way home yesterday."

Suddenly a sound rang out, and Ryougi Shiki instinctively turned towards the door.

Although she was blind, she recognized the voice as belonging to someone else—

It was that suspicious young healer, Shirou.

The red-haired boy walked to Ryougi Shiki's bedside and sat down as usual.

"At the time, the girl was being harassed by a group of thugs. Since she was a junior at the school of someone I knew, I stepped in to help her deal with the thugs."

"Are you here to show off your heroic rescue of the damsel in distress?"

Ryougi clicked her tongue in displeasure, while Shirou replied with a smile.

"No, that's not it at all. What's important is that I found the girl I rescued to be a little special."

"She seems to have been born with special eyes... able to visualize objects in her field of vision as flat surfaces."

Everything appeared to her as if it were "drawn on paper"...

Then, you can easily pick up the paper and twist it into a ball.

Shirou grabbed Ryougi Shiki's wrist and shoved a cold, metallic object into her hand.

The girl frowned, and after touching it with her finger, she discovered that it was a bent soup spoon.

After a brief silence, Ryougi Shiki asked.

"And then, what happened to the girl?"

"At the age of four, she lost her special vision... Her father removed her extraordinary abilities by giving her painkillers over a long period of time... a practice that dulled her senses."

And now—the girl can no longer feel pain at all.

"Humph."

Ryougi Shiki snorted, "Isn't this fine?"

That girl... her experience was completely opposite to mine, the girl thought.

He himself was an anomaly created by humans, while she was an anomaly that was taken away by humans.

Ryougi Shiki felt a little jealous of the girl.

It's just that I can't feel pain, but at least I'm still a normal person... right?

"No, I wish there were such a good thing in the world."

Shirou said, "Even if my senses are dulled... no, even if I gouge out my eyes, I can still see what I can see."

The so-called curse is something that will automatically come back no matter how hard you try to get rid of it.

The girl begged me to remove her epidural... saying she'd really had enough.

"Is it okay if I turn back into my abnormal self?" Ryougi Shiki asked in surprise.

“That’s the real me,” she said.

Ryougi Shiki was speechless.

Shirou glanced at her and began to recount what he had just heard on the phone.

"Shiki, your eyes are called the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception in our world."

As its name suggests, the Phantom Eye can concretely reveal the opponent's fate (death) simply by looking at them.

Even more advanced than the Gorgon of Greek mythology, the last person to possess such eyes was the evil god Balor of Celtic mythology.

Shirou added an explanation, but Ryougi Shiki didn't seem to understand.

"The 'magic eye' refers to performing psychic surgery on your own eyeballs to add special effects to your vision, but your eyes are naturally formed."

You were born with this aptitude, which is why you gained the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception after experiencing death.

I asked your family, and they said you've had the ability to see through things from a young age.

"...As if you know so much." Ryougi Shiki clicked her tongue.

"So these eyes are not a calamity from heaven, but the destiny you were born with."

After Shirou said that, Ryougi Shiki asked.

"...You said that even if I lose my eyes, I can still 'see' those lines. If that's the case, I have no reason to destroy my own sight."

"That's right, you can't live a normal life."

Shirou coldly asserted, "Shiki, you should face reality—stop dreaming of an ordinary life."

"........."

Ryougi Shiki bit her lip in resentment.

"Think carefully about what you plan to do."

Shirou stood up from his chair: "Oh, right, my employer really likes your eyes... If you still want to gouge them out, you might as well sell them to her; she's willing to pay that price."

As he spoke, Shirou spread out his right hand and made a "five" gesture.

"I can't see how much you've gestured."

After Shirou left, Ryougi Shiki sat on the hospital bed, cursing and swearing.

However, this was a lie; even with the bandages covering her face, she could still vaguely see the outline of the boy's fingers.

...Five hundred million dollars.

……

……

At night.

Ryougi Shiki lay on the bed, her mind a complete mess.

Things about knitting, things about eyes... a jumble of thoughts kept her awake at night.

Just then, the door to the ward opened, and a slow series of footsteps sounded.

Is she a nurse? No… this feeling…

A pair of hands grabbed the girl's neck.

The cold hand began to exert force, trying to break her neck bone directly.

Humans can only know their true thoughts when they truly face death.

——————I don't want to die!

This thought filled Ryougi Shiki's mind.

Because—death is so lonely and utterly worthless.

Death is so dark, it's terrifying.

Death is more terrifying than anything else.

"I don't want to."

Ryougi Shiki used all her strength to wrestle with the attacker who grabbed her neck.

The attackers were not human.

Her cold, stiff fingers reminded her of zombies in movies.

In that case, it's impossible to kill it using conventional methods.

A strategy was quickly devised.

She deliberately ran towards the window, then opened it, became entangled with the corpse, and fell from the window, which was several stories high.

In the instant of falling, Ryougi Shiki grabbed the corpse's collarbone and threw it under her, using it as a cushion.

As the body crashed heavily to the ground, the girl jumped horizontally.

After a roll and an impact that paralyzed her limbs, Ryougi Shiki barely landed, avoiding a fatal fall.

The corpse was not dead; it heard footsteps slowly moving in their direction.

"Haha...haha...haha..."

It is said that the best way to deal with shut-ins is not to cook for them.

The same principle applies now. When Ryougi Shiki actually faced death, she realized how foolish her philosophical thoughts about life and death had been.

—I want to live.

The girl ripped off the bandages from her face.

Her dignified and composed face showed no trace of her previous confusion as she stared directly at the monster with her iridescent eyes.

"No matter what, I want to live."

……

……

“Are you a cat?”

The boy's voice rang out behind Ryougi Shiki.

"Shirou, what are you doing here?"

She turned her head—oh dear, he really is a brat.

During their casual conversations over the past few days, Ryougi Shiki has mistaken Shirou for an older man of the opposite sex on several occasions.

Looking at him now, he certainly looks like a junior high school student.

Shirou said, "My employer asked me to come over tonight to monitor you, saying that it's almost time to go."

So that's how it is. No wonder it's a hospital; they have fresh corpses to use.

Since they couldn't invade while remaining in a spirit form, those guys resorted to force instead.

"It possesses the corpse with its illicit thoughts, preparing to kill you and then transfer you into its new body."

Ryougi Shiki frowned and said, "Anyway, it's all because of your strange stone."

Shirou shrugged: "If you have anything to complain about, go complain to Touko."

"Is that so... Never mind, Shirou, did you bring the scissors I asked you to bring?"

"Ah, they still won't agree. Because of your criminal record, the hospital prohibits you from possessing knives."

"You're really useless. Then you should come up with a solution for me."

"Well, although I didn't bring scissors, but..."

Shirou's right hand was wrapped in a dazzling green light, illuminating the empty space in the dead of night.

"…………"

Ryougi Shiki's eyes widened.

This was the first time she had witnessed the supernatural mystery (magic) firsthand.

"then!"

Shirou threw the projected short sword to Ryougi Shiki.

As she gripped the dagger, the girl flew towards the zombie like a gust of wind.

She leaped into the air and slammed her knee into the zombie's face, then rose up and raised her gleaming short knife.

"Remember to aim at the main body!" Shirou reminded him.

Ryougi Shiki's comprehension was even better than expected.

"------"

The zombie, which was struggling desperately, stopped moving the moment it was stabbed by the blade.

The dagger that was swung down was not aimed at the corpse itself, but directly killed the spirit hidden inside.