novelraw Chapter 430
Chapter 430
Death?
I felt my consciousness muddled, and that sensation faded as if I were surfacing from the depths of the ocean.
(Huh...? Ah, right. I got kicked by a horse...)
It seems I must have lost consciousness from that.
But still, to get knocked out by a horse kick. And even if it was a surprise, I really got a solid one. Just great. I was all proud of myself for carrying that basin of water without spilling a drop, and now this.
Getting carried away is my bad habit.
(Hmm, but wait...? What's with this suffocating feeling? And no matter how many times I try to blink, my eyes won't open at all...??)
For some reason, I feel nauseous and a suffocating pain like I can't breathe, and on top of that, I can't see.
Directing my awareness to my other senses, they don't respond either. Worse, aside from the pain, I can't feel any sensation from my body at all.
In my desperate struggle, I tried activating aura sight.Then, it was as if seeing a view through blue glass; I could see all around me.
(Heh!? Wha... what is this...!?)
Front, back, left, right, up, down. Not just 360 degrees, I could see the ground beneath my feet and the sky above my head simultaneously... And within that blue field of vision, I found myself collapsed, eyes rolled back.
(Ngh!?)
On the way to the stables, there was a small hut for temporarily holding horses outside.
For some reason, a black horse was housed there, facing the wrong way. Maybe an employee panicked and put it in like this because the horse was about to foal? And in front of it — my body was lying there.
And apparently, I seem to have gotten kicked and sent flying by that black horse.
(Umm... I must have been carrying the basin and stepped in horse manure without noticing. How awful. But if I'm lying over there, then what's this me here? What in the world is...??)
Looking again, probably because my magic ran out, the luggage I had stored in my spatial inventory was piled up in a heap beside my body. And from the haphazardly stacked luggage, a broken bottle — likely containing a universal healing potion — was leaking liquid, staining the ground.
But as I strove to comprehend the situation, the unpleasant, suffocating pain grew even more intense. Combined with my view swaying gently as if blown by the wind, I felt an indescribable anxiety and helplessness.
(Hah! Could it be... I died!?)
That's ridiculous. No matter how terrifying the monsters I fought, I've survived this far. To think I'd die from something like getting kicked by a horse...
(No! I must still be safe! It's just an out-of-body experience! If I can get back to my body, I'll be safe, right!?)
Yeah, that's it. I'm still conscious like this, and I don't want to think I'm dead.
Besides, my life was just starting to get fun. I can't afford to die in a place like this. So I immediately try to return to my body, but for some reason, I can't move forward at all.
(Huh, wha!? Hey, am I just a soul right now!? Wait! I don't have any arms or legs!!)
Suspicious, I direct my awareness to myself and find I'm smooth and round, with no arms or legs. Ugh, no wonder I can see all around. I'm just awareness, with no corresponding body parts at all.
(Hey, wait a sec! Don't I have any verniers or thrusters attached somewhere?? ...Whoa, calm down, me! That's right, if I can use aura sight, then I can use psychokinesis to move!)
Encouraging myself like that, I endure the assaulting pain and activate psychokinesis. Then, I can move forward, sluggishly and only a little.
But, it's slow...
The distance to my body, an estimated mere 8 meters, feels incredibly far. Is it because being separated from my flesh, I can't refine my ki properly? As just a soul, is my power this ineffective...?
(Mwoh!?)
But here, my movement — slower than a snail's — suddenly and completely stops as if brakes were applied.
Wondering why, I look behind me in my awareness, and there, as if it had sprouted its upper body from the ground at some point, exists a black humanoid shadow.
And it's beckoning to me, over and over, in a creepy, languid motion.
(Wha, what, is that the god of death!? No, not at all! I haven't summoned anyone at all!! Are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else!?)
...
Zugogogogogogo...
They say those who interfere with another's love path should get kicked by a horse and die, or so it seems. And I became the very person in the middle of that vortex.
Furthermore, perhaps having come to greet me — the god of death — this eerie black shadow's beckoning makes it so I can't even move forward anymore.
(Hah, right. But I'm not alone, even if I'm alone! Because I have the spirits with whom I share my soul! Then I'll borrow their power! Heeeey, Shiotarou! Shioootarooouuu!!)
A desperate scream that makes no sound.
With that literal cry of the soul, I beg Shiotarou for rescue. Then, from my collapsed body with its eyes rolled back, Shiotarou's face pops up.
(Yes!... Oh wait, no, not that way! Over here, over here! Help me, Shiotarou! If this keeps up, the god of death will take me awaaay!!)
Shiotarou, who looks just like an emergency exit sign, glances around restlessly. But noticing me, he desperately starts running towards me.
(Gh... ghhh!)
Yes!... Ah, but, Shiotarou's movements seem slow too.
It seems Shiotarou was also unconscious until now, from the shock of my 'death'. But in the meantime, I'm being drawn closer and closer to the god of death.
(G-, Go for it Shiotarou! Hurry! Q-, Queen! Pixie Queen, help me too!!)
Even if I want to do something myself, without hands, legs, or even the ability to refine ki, I can't do anything. On top of that, the pain is unbearable; I feel like even the consciousness I'm barely holding onto is about to slip away.
(Ughh! Is being in a state of just a soul this agonizing...? Ah, this is bad... no more!!)
The black shadow is now pressing close, and my altitude keeps dropping. If I end up in that shadow's hand like this, it feels like it'll be completely over...
(Gh, gh... GHHH!!)
But in that critical situation, Shiotarou, who came rushing in, makes a full-body diving receive on me. That sends me floating high into the air, and my view expands.
(Whoa, you did it, Shiota-Bubeeh!?)
But suddenly, I'm hit by an even more intense impact.
However, it seems that was because Pixie Queen, who shot out from my collapsed body, flew like an arrow and launched a fierce attack on me in my soul state.
Thanks to that tornado fairy queen attack, an extraordinary spin was added to me.
Because of that, my all-around view spun dizzyingly, and I tasted pain enough to make me vomit. Scattering a disgusting aura like that, I ended up plunging into my own body...