Dakara, Anata o Koko de Koroshimasu - Chapter 26 – ‘Sakura’ ①

The essence of life is the ‘soul’, and the body is only the ‘vessel’ that forms it.

“Well, no matter how you think about it, this is the conclusion, I suppose.”

An Oriental girl with black twin-tailed hair and glasses whispered at a desk buried under a large amount of documents and reports.

Once developed in secret by the Elmerado military, the Artificial HumanHomunculus Production plan.

Familiar with alchemy, she was the head of the project. Since she had been entrusted with this important role, she had been working hard in her daily research, sparing no time to sleep, but the results were not good and the plan did not progress.

The production of the body was already going well. But for some reason, all Homunculi were born with an abnormality in the mind.

Although it will eventually become a military weapon, it’s a problem if it doesn’t listen. The girl was researching to see if there was a way to solve this problem somehow….

“Well, even though the structure of the brain is still unknown, the ‘soul’ is such an obscure and unscientific element… honestly, I just don’t know what to do with it.”

The girl exhaled with her head in her arms.

However, she starts muttering to herself with the face raised vigorously, like something good came to mind.

“Wait… if the body really has nothing to do with life. If you can successfully separate the body from the soul, or create a mechanism to prevent body decay, will you become immortal….“

It sounds too unrealistic, but for some reason it seemed like a problem that was not so difficult for the girl.

Then, the girl stood up as if she suddenly recalled, and took out a large piece of cloth that had been hung in the corner of the room.

There was a figure of a Homunculus immersed in liquid in an incubator.

Flaming, red hair.

The eyelids were closed, but there was a little girl with blood red-black eyes.

She was a Homunculus that was made independently of the government.

Homunculus shall not be manufactured for self-interest.

So she had been told by the government, but she committed the taboo and manufactured Homunculi in secret.

With her hand on the incubator, the girl with an enraptured expression — Sakura spoke to a girl who sleeps in the liquid.

“…… Fufufu. Can’t wait. It won’t be long before you wake up.”

※※※※

Riko is not human.

I couldn’t hide my turmoil at the words of Rinka, who now only a head, had just announced it.

“What are you talking about…? Riko isn’t human? It can’t be!”

“Is that right? Then why is the child trembling?”

“Eh…?”

When she said that, I looked back at Riko.

Indeed, she was trembling with her eyes wide open.

“Ah…… Serra………”

“Riko, what’s going on? It’s a lie, isn’t it?”

“I’m, so…… sor, ry…..”

With tears in her eyes, Riko said so.

Why do you need to apologize there? Why don’t you deny Rinka’s words?

――――No way, are you saying that Riko is really not a human being?

The appearance of Riko when she came across Sakura. In addition, the appearance overlapped, and distrust in Riko grew faster.

“Riko, what do you mean―?”

“It means exactly what it says, Serra,”

The voice of a girl echoed from directly behind.

This voice and tone was definitely.

“!? Sakura!”

“Ah~ yes whatever, don’t move.”

The moment I tried to turn and slash Sakura, my field of view was reversed.

I found myself lying on the ground, and could not move my body.

Then Sakura, I thought that she had grabbed my arm, mercilessly bent it in the opposite direction.

And the sound echoed in me.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaah!??”

“Serra!! Mother, stop!”

“You be quiet, Riko.”

Sakura turned her eyes toward Riko.

Immediately after, Riko’s body trembled and she began to suffer while holding down her chest.

“Gee…… a, ah…………”

“Riko! Sakura, what are you doing to Riko!?”

Sakura kicked me in the face, interrupting my words.

Without a doubt, my nose is broken.

“Don’t be noisy. Shut up a little bit.”

It wasn’t Sakura’s usual eccentric speech and behavior, she spoke coldly.

She was evidently getting irritated.

“It’s a good thing that the two of you have been kept alive for the sake of Sakura’s ‘plan’. Since you’re the best way to carry out the ‘plan’, you were simply given priority, but there are a lot of alternatives. So if you get carried away, I’ll kill you, won’t I?”

“But you don’t have to kill Riko!”

“Don’t talk back.”

She grabbed my hair and beat it to the ground.

I felt my consciousness fly only for a moment due to the intense pain and shock.

Then, she grabbed my head, which was dazed, with both hands, and she forced the head to turn in the opposite direction from Sakura.

I heard a sound that should not be heard.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!?? Aaaaaaa, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!?????”

“Are you still in pain? That half-heartedness is your problem.”

I managed to move my mouth even though I was almost overwhelmed by the intense pain.

“What did you come…..?”

“Retrieving Rinka lying there and declaration of war, I guess ✩”

As she calmed down, Sakura held Rinka’s body as she danced her steps.

“Just now, I planted a bomb in Riko.”

“Bomb!?”

At the same time, both I and Riko were startled at Sakura’s shocking words.

Sakura, who was in good spirits, laughed and stepped around me.

“That’s right. Bomb. Once detonated, Riko’s internal organs will be destroyed and she’ll die instantly ✩.”

“Eh!? Get it out of me now!”

“There’s no way I’m going to do that.”

Sakura crouched down beside me and slowly pats my lower abdomen.

Then, Sakura’s finger sunk into me with an unpleasant sound.

“He-, a, aah!!!!????”

My organs were stroked directly, and I was at a loss for words.

An indescribable discomfort and pain accompanied it.

Still, for some reason, Sakura’s words reached the ear firmly and I understood.

“If you head further east from here, there is a town called ‘Rogen’. Is Sakura’s hideout there? A retreat? A secret base? Well, there’s a place like that, so please come within a week.”

“Why, such- aaaaaaah!!!???

My organs were stroked again before my words were finished.

Sakura approached my ear and whispered sweetly as she blew her hot breath.

“It’s your chance to kill all the Undying you hate, right?”

“――――!!”

If what Sakura says is true.

If I go to Rogen, I may be able to kill the Undying. However, they must have been on Sakura’s side. There is no way you can understand what the madman is thinking, but it is too inconsistent and confusing.

But I can’t afford to give her a chance.

“If you don’t come anyway, Riko will die ✩ “

“Coward…”

Does it mean I have no veto right?

I glared at Sakura with my utmost resistance and emitted my grudge, but she laughed it off.

Holding my head again, my neck was returned to its original position, with my bones snapping.

“Well, that’s why. I have a lot of expectations from you ✩ See you later.”

“Wait, Big Sister! ‘Mother’!”

Riko shouted and tried to stop Sakura, who looked back on hearing that.

When Sakura heard that voice, she looked back towards Riko, saying, “Oh, that’s right.”

“I’ll tell you, Rinka’s heart is completely broken. She’ll never remember you again.”

“…… tsu! Why did you do that?”

“Because you ran away, right?”

And Sakura.

Exposing more malice, she said to Riko with a disdainful smile, to mock her.

“Well, I put a lot of drugs and made a hole in her head so big I could see her brain, and when I was playing by amputating both arms and legs or something like that, Rinka completely broke down ✩”

” ―――― Sakuraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa”

At that moment.

I saw Riko get really angry for the first time.

The sadness that a loved one has been broken, anger at the undaunted attitude, and hatred toward her.

At any rate, even the will to kill seemed to dwell in her eyes.

“Riko seems to be quite livid (LOL). Well, goodbye, for real this time.”

“Wait! Don’t be silly, you, because of you, sister! Sister!!”

Riko’s angry roar echoed through the air.

However, neither I nor Riko were able to move because of Sakura’s mysterious power.

As soon as I blinked, Sakura’s figure disappeared.

Finally, I was able to move my body there.

“Big sister. . . Big sister ,Sister!! 」

Riko’s heartbreaking cry.

Having lost the feelings of sadness, I can’t understand Riko’s present feelings correctly.

Still, I wanted to ease her grief.

I hugged Riko as much as I could.

“Serraaaaa….”

“Yes, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

Still, she didn’t stop crying, I hugged Riko, and patted her head.

Eventually, Riko was tired from crying, and soon she was sleeping in my chest.

――――Speaking of which, when we first met, she was sleeping like this.

“Let’s go back, Riko.”

Since Sakura has begun to move in earnest, it is dangerous to stay here.

Besides, if we don’t go to her early, Riko will die.

Only that must be avoided.

“All right. Sakura. I’m going to kill you, so be prepared.”

Quietly, soliciting the determination and will to kill, I walked with Riko in my arms.