Jujutsushi 276.1
Chapter 276: Collapse 2
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
R1: [1-3], R2[4-6]
Part 1
「N-no! It’s not what you think, Souma-kun!」
No matter how she tried to deny it, the truth was plain to see: horns had sprouted from Himeno-san’s head.
「Oi, what’s happened?」
「Where’s the enemy?」
Drawn by the commotion, Yamada and Nakajima soon appeared. Their faces were worn and gloomy, and even Ueda followed quietly behind them.
In the end, with only Natsukawa still out on reconnaissance, everyone had gathered here… all surrounding Himeno-san, who’d suddenly grown horns.
「Wait, this isn’t what it looks like! I don’t even know why this is happening to me!?」
「Easy now, Himeno-san, it’s all right, I understand.」
「N-No, Souma-kun.」
I moved toward Himeno-san, speaking softly to calm her—
but Takanashi-san’s sharp voice stopped me.
「Don’t go near her… Himeno-san is probably no longer human.」
「SHE WHAT!?」
「You can’t be serious…?」
Takanashi-san was no longer looking at her classmate.
She was looking at a monster.
Pure fear filled her eyes.
「———She’s a kin of 『Succubus』. I saw it with my 『Eye of Truth』.」
「HAH!?」
I didn’t understand right away.
But when I saw Himeno-san’s stunned—almost crushed—expression…
I couldn’t help thinking Takanashi might have hit the mark.
「Himeno-san… is it true? What does it mean, being a kin of 『Succubus』?」
「I-I also have no idea what that even means…」
Her agitation was painfully obvious.
Was she denying a false accusation?
Or had a secret she’d desperately tried to hide finally been exposed?
「My vocation is 『Healer』, look, I can use healing magic properly!!!」
That was indeed true.
Though she wasn’t on Sakura’s level, her healing was reliable.
In the fight against the Yamata-no-Orochi, she had been indispensable.
「…Yes, it registered as 『Healer』. But after those horns appeared, it changed to 『Succubus』.」
「Then… has she finally shown her true nature?」
「No, you’ve got it wrong! I don’t know why these horns grew, it’s not my fault!」
「Silence, Himeno. So you’ve been deceiving us all this time.」
As Himeno cried out, Asuna’s hand gripped the sword at her waist.
A sharp killing intent radiated from her.
「Wait, Asuna! Don’t do anything reckless!」
「No, Class Rep. I can’t forgive a traitor who lies to her comrades… Himeno! What were you plotting when you wormed your way into our trust? Speak!」
「W-wait! I haven’t done anything… I’d never deceive everyone, never…」
Hands raised, tears trembling in her frightened eyes, Himeno-san pleaded desperately.
She looked like an innocent girl wrongly accused—
and yet I couldn’t be sure.
Deceivers can hide everything, like Momokawa, leaving no sign at all.
That was what made the fear so suffocating.
Perhaps it was that fear…
I hesitated.
I couldn’t immediately defend her.
「Himeno-san… don’t tell me the Goma attacked because of you.」
「H-huh!? Don’t be ridiculous! I was attacked too!」
「Kotori, kin are different from vocations, right?
But like vocations, they must give some sort of power.」
「Yeah, exactly. Vocations are blessings from the gods…
But kin, I think… they might draw power from the god of monsters.」
「Hold on, if that’s the case…」
「Could it really have been you, Himeno-san… who brought the Goma down upon us…?」
「No! No! I didn’t! I would never do something like that!」
「If you’re a servant of the god of monsters, then you’ve been after our lives from the start!
You’re just like Momokawa—another vile traitor!」
Asuna drew her sword.
The blade gleamed as she pointed it straight at Himeno-san.
And the reason I couldn’t instantly stop her was simple:
deep down, I also doubted Himeno-san.
If we let it slide, would we face another disaster like Momokawa’s poisoning?
But after a brief moment—
I forced myself to think it through again.
No.
This is wrong.
We cannot kill a comrade based on suspicion alone.
Why am I wavering?
Protecting my companions is my duty—and that includes Himeno-san.
And more than anything…
We just lost someone.
I refuse to lose another. Never again.
「———Stop」
Before I could overcome my hesitation, someone else moved.
She stepped forward, planting herself firmly between Asuna’s sword and Himeno-san, arms spread wide to shield her.
「Don’t bully Hime-chan」
「Kuh… Futaba…」
It was Futaba-san.
Even after Momokawa’s betrayal, even with her heart wounded,
she still moved to protect a friend in danger.
Watching her, shame filled me.
I had hesitated—even for a moment—because of fear.
「Stop, Asuna. Sheathe your sword.」
「Indeed. We won’t solve anything by cutting down Himeno here. Calm yourself.」
Class Rep and I stopped Asuna at the same moment.
「But she’s…」
「It’s okay, Asuna. Trust me.」
I gently took the hand gripping her sword.
It was trembling.
Was it hesitation, like mine?
Or was she shaken by Futaba’s unwavering stance?
Either way, I couldn’t let Asuna kill Himeno-san.
Slowly, I guided her sword back into its sheath.
「Everyone, please listen. Himeno-san is———」
「———We’ve got an emergency! The Goma are coming!」
At that moment, Natsukawa-san returned from scouting.
"The goma's coming."
With that single sentence, tension rippled once more through the group.
「Everyone, stay calm! Natsukawa-san, how close are they?」
「About five minutes away from this place! I’m certain they know we’re hiding in this cave. I mean, they’re coming straight for us!」
「So it really is Himeno-san’s fault, then—」
「Sakura, that’s enough. I won’t let you say that.」
The timing couldn’t be worse. And like Sakura said, I couldn’t help but wonder if Himeno-san really was the traitor who lured the Goma here.
But even so… I couldn’t bring myself to abandon her. And I wasn’t about to let anyone else do it either.
「Let’s get moving. Natsukawa-san, lead the way.」
「Wait, Sōuma-kun. Instead of running outside, I think it’s better if we go deeper into the cave.」
「Seriously?」
「It's my 『Thief』 intuition. This cave goes really deep, and I’m sure there’s『Something』waiting for us further inside.」
「Let’s follow Minami’s advice. We wouldn’t stand a chance if we tried to run outside anyway.」
「You're right. Let’s trust Natsukawa-san’s intuition.」
No one raised any objections. With the Goma horde closing in, no one wanted to run through the forest in the dead of night.
We had no idea what was waiting deeper inside the cave, but even so, we had no choice except to keep moving — clinging to even the tiniest shred of hope.
「U-uhh… Futaba-chaaan…」
「Hime-chan, it’s all right. Don’t cry.」
Himeno-san was sobbing desperately in Futaba-san’s arms. Burying her face in her friend’s generous chest, she cried without restraint, while Futaba-san gently stroked her head like calming a frightened child.
At some point, the horn — the very thing that sparked all this suspicion — had completely vanished from Himeno-san’s head.
===
We continued deeper into the cave. Even during the day, a natural cavern like this would be pitch-black. Only Sakura’s summoned Lux Elemental (light spirit) illuminated the darkness.
How long had we been walking?
Every so often, faint cries of Goma echoed from behind us, fraying our nerves each time, but we kept forcing ourselves forward.
「Indeed, this is no ordinary cave.」
「Aye, who would have imagined ruins like these were hidden down here.」
Inside the cave, faint remnants of man-made structures — pillars and walls — began appearing along the rocky surfaces.
Whether this place had originally been an underground facility or had been buried due to shifting layers of the earth, no one could say.
「Brother, these ruins look different from the dungeons we’ve seen so far.」
「It may not be iron… but this sheen is definitely metallic.」
The exposed parts of the ruins were made not from stone, as one would expect in a fantasy-style dungeon, but from a mysterious material that gave off a dull metallic shine.
No one knew how long it had been buried, but although the pillars and walls were coated in dust and sand, there wasn’t a single trace of reddish rust. It was probably made from the magical metal known as lightsteel — and not the cheap kind, but refined to a very high degree.
「This must be the dungeon’s true structure. I bet the place with the Heavenly Gate looks just like this.」
「It feels almost like something out of science fiction.」