Jujutsushi 277.2
BGM: Wuthering Waves 2.8A MSQ Part 11[Please Help with subscribe]
Chapter 277: Bond at Rock Bottom
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
R1: [1-3], R2 [4-6]
Part 4
「We’re alive!」
「Somehow.」
「Ugh, I’m seriously done for… I’m dying here…」
「W-we did it… we won…」
They had turned a hopeless situation into a desperate last stand, fighting the Goma army head-on like soldiers with nothing left to lose — and all five of them survived. Had even one fallen, they would surely have been overwhelmed and wiped out.
That’s how fierce the battle was, a victory snatched from the very jaws of death.
「Hey, Himeno, heal me already! This pain’s killing me!」
「Nope, I’m out of magical power, I can’t move another inch.」
「Says the one casting healing on herself!?」
「This is really the last healing spell, okay?」
It wasn’t far from the truth. Himeno had never drained her magical power this badly before.
「Heh, guess effort pays off, huh? Not bad, Himeno.」
「I just snapped, that’s all. There’s no point pretending anymore.」
Himeno answered Mary’s question with a wry smile, speaking frankly.
By now, there was nothing left to hide — and no man she cared to impress. The three boys still here had once been utterly obsessed with her body, yet now they didn’t even give her a second glance.
Even so, she felt no urge to bring it up or reproach them. It wasn’t just because she’d chosen to stay silent at the first class meeting; she simply had no lingering attachment anymore.
In a way, that too was a sign of growth.
「... Hey, I think Momokawa is telling the truth after all. The one pulling the strings is Takanashi Kotori.」
「Oi, what are you suddenly talking about?」
「Ueda, be quiet. Let her speak, Himeno — we’re listening.」
「Thanks, Yoshizaki-san. To tell the truth... I really am a 『Succubus』————」
In the beginning, she had genuinely been a 『Healer』.
It was around the time she used her body to win over Nakajima Haruma that she became a 『Succubus』.
Her powers as a healer had not faded, so there had been no issue keeping it secret — at least, not until Takanashi exposed everything in such a grandiose way.
「So, by the time I met you three, I was already a succubus.」
「Bloody hell… That explains why you seemed like a completely different person compared to back when we were in Japan.」
「Succubus or not, I’d have done the same thing. It’s only natural for a woman to get close to a strong ma——— OUCH! What was that for, Yoshizaki-san!?」
「Because, well, you were getting on my nerves, that’s all.」
Unlike her, who never managed to seduce Tendou Ryuuichi and simply fought on bravely as a 『Warrior』, Himeno had used her body as a weapon. It wasn’t that she thought that was wrong, but acting smug about it—as if it were the clever thing to do—was enough to get under her skin. A little kick was perfectly justified.
「So you managed to charm the Totempole Trio and Yamada too, huh? Don’t tell me you even went after Momokawa too!?」
「No, by the time Momokawa-kun joined them, I’d already left.」
「Oh, that so? Tch, and here I thought I might get some dirt on him.」
「Momokawa-kun’s got the most intense fe**shes in the whole class. Unless it’s someone like Futaba-san or Randou-san, he’d never fall for them.」
「Ah, right — someone like Kyoko or Futaba, eh」
Mary couldn’t help but agree. Ever since they’d teamed up, Kotarou’s gaze had been fixed on the sway of Kyouko’s chest, never once drifting toward either her or Jury.
Both girls prided themselves on being at least above average in looks, but after Ryuuichi — and now even Kotarou — failed to see them as women, the quiet sting of disappointment mixed with a creeping sense of anxiety.
「So, why are you suddenly storming out like that?」
「…Even with succubus powers, it’s not like I can charm every bloke alive. Rather, its power isn’t that great.」
「She flipped out because we were all totally smitten with Reina, then stormed off.」
「Pfft—seriously? That’s hilarious!」
「Oi, that’s not funny! You’re supposed to feel sorry for me! I was the only one who got blamed for it back then!」
「Hey, that’s all in the past now, yeah?」
「Honestly… I do still feel bad about that incident these days.」
「Oh, shut up, you bloody lolicon.」
「I’m amazed you even survived like that. The moment you were left on your own, you should’ve dropped dead, right?」
「Yeah, you’re right. That’s when he appeared before me————」
「…Maybe pretending I hadn’t seen anything back then would’ve been the smarter move.」
「Haruma-kun, how could you say that after all the love we shared?」
「No—you’ve got it all wrong...」
Whether her luck with men was a blessing or a curse, who could say? Either way, by teaming up with Nakajima again, Himeno managed to survive.
After that, as Mary already knows, the two of them reunited at the School Tower.
「I see. So that’s what you’ve been doing up to now. And then?」
「To put it simply, being a succubus isn’t that big deal. My powers aren’t exactly overwhelming, and I haven’t done anything wrong. The idea that I’d ever side with the Goma is ridiculous.」
In fact, during the last battle, the Goma had attacked Himeno just like everyone else, leaving her with a few scrapes to prove it.
Even if she had been working with them, it was impossible to imagine those creatures putting on such a convincing act, let alone bothering to fake an attack when there was no need for it.
「And those horns from earlier, honestly, I don’t think that was because of me.」
「Oh, so now you’re saying that was Takanashi’s fault too?」
「I didn’t have the slightest clue. I mean, if something as extreme as suddenly growing horns had really happened, then surely the goddess of succubi would’ve granted me some sort of new power, right?」
For horns to sprout out of nowhere at that exact moment—and for Himeno’s true nature as a succubus to be exposed—was far too strange to be coincidence.
She’d gone to great lengths to keep it a secret, but now it just felt like she’d been completely set up.
「If you think about who’d stand to gain the most from stirring up trouble about me being a succubus… it’s got to be Takanashi, isn’t it? She’s the one who’d want to get rid of everyone except Souma after all.」
「...I see. So even us being left behind fits neatly into her plan.」
As Kotarō had shouted back then—if Takanashi truly was the mastermind, her plan was to sacrifice her classmates to trigger the 『Hero』’s Awakening.
Her ultimate goal was to escape the dungeon with the awakened hero—just the two of them. For that to happen, everyone else had to die within its depths.
「She conveniently made sure only we were locked out when that ruin’s door closed. And it’s still shut even now—she’s made no effort to come back for us. This whole situation... it’s exactly what Takanashi wanted.」
Had the door opened during the fight with the Goma and she had appeared to help, they might not have been so convinced of her guilt. They could have accepted it as a tragic accident—that she had simply been separated when the ancient door sealed itself.
Still, if results are all that matter, then writing off the loss of five classmates as mere misfortune would be far too simplistic. It was far more reasonable to believe that some deliberate design, the hand of a mastermind, was behind it.
Moreover, whether Takanashi could actually control the door to these ruins or not, with no one else possessing the means to manipulate them, there was no way to prove it either way.
If she really was the mastermind, concealing her powers as a so-called 『Sage』, then pulling off a stunt like this would be perfectly within her ability.
「So, if Takanashi really is the one behind it all… what do we do now？」
「Himeno, you’re not thinking of taking revenge, are you？」
「If I could, I’d love to blast that kid-faced bitch, Kenzaki, and the rest with my 『 Lux Sagita』, but we don’t have that luxury. Right now, all we can do is try to stay alive.」
「We probably can’t head back to their place anyway… so, shall we try and find Momokawa instead？」
「Do you really think Momokawa-kun would come all the way down to the very bottom？」
Himeno’s question drew a short, thoughtful silence.
「... I’ve got this feeling that he might show up.」
「So do I. Momokawa will come. He’ll at least try to kill Takanashi-san and bring Futaba-san home.」
「I’m not sure he’d do it flawlessly, even he wouldn’t. But he’d probably make it to the very bottom somehow.」
「With Kyouko at his side, he’ll find a way back for sure. He always manages somehow.」
Even without taking into account the relief of clearing Kotarō’s name, the four of them still sounded remarkably optimistic.
They had come this far—even felling the mighty Yamata-no-Orochi. If they were told to start over halfway through the dungeon, their morale would surely crumble.
And yet, somehow, they all believed it: if anyone could do it, it would be Momokawa Kotarō.
「For now, let’s just look for a way out. If this lowest floor really is sealed, as Takanashi says… then all we can do is trust that Momokawa will come for us.」