The Cursed Girl's Plight

"Color me impressed. A flea like you managed to last this long living like that, nano. As I thought, fleas are really good at living off other people's blood...or in your case, hard work."

"..."

On that same evening when she was caught by a shadow-like being, the person in the mirror couldn't hide her smile seeing the poor girl lying on the ground, unable to move a muscle.

Rather, more than anything, her reaction isn't that of amazement, but of disappointment.

"At the same time, I expected you to at least put up a good fight against this new toy that I got, nano. And what did I get? A shameful display of a girl lying down on the floor helplessly, all while at the mercy of her captor. I don't want to say this, but you've become a shadow of your former self, nano."

"..."

"You don't really like to talk a lot, no? Especially to me, nano..."

For a moment, the lady in the mirror thought of making the girl look her way and make her speak by force. However, she knows that even threatening her wouldn't work, as she is fully aware of how much she's hated by the girl.

"You...already destroyed my life...I have nothing else but my life for you to take..."

"My, are you still blaming me for all of your misfortunes, nano?" the lady gasped in shock. "Don't you dare forget, that all of this wouldn't happen if not for you, nano? You did try to kill me—and that should be the last mistake you'll ever make, nano, if not for my benevolence."

'Oh, how the mighty have fallen,' the lady spoke to herself. The once proud hunter, renowned for slaying an entire congregation of dark mages living underground, is now reduced to being unable to fight and use magic and lives off stealing for food at the surface—the very textbook definition of a parasite. The amount of shame the lady has for this extremely weak girl must be unsurmountable, that she's struggling to even look at the girl even from the other side of the mirror.

"Though, I admit—perhaps I was also responsible for your fall into misery to some extent, nano. Having most of one's power stolen by others, I would surely also lose my will to live if I were in your position, nano. Luckily for me, that isn't the case, nano."

Hearing that, the girl replied:

"What...do you really want from me?"

"A chance for redemption, nano."

"A...what?"

"Yes. An act of mercy, from the victor to her captured opponent," the lady confirmed. "I'll give back the thing you've lost for something I've desired for so long. A reasonable exchange, nano."

Mulling over it for a while, the girl responded:

"I...understand. I'm all ears."

"Splendid, nano!

And thus, after a series of negotiations, a deal was struck between the two of them. In exchange for getting her powers back (as well as her freedom), she has to act as the worm to the fish—a young man possessing powers far greater, and more diverse, than hers. Hearing from the lady the traits of this man, the girl began to wonder how she could be able to influence him into falling into the trap...

...and he did, far easier than she thought. Now, at present—she's about to witness the man quickly falling into his demise and her return to her former glory. Watching the scenes in front of her made her body slightly shiver in excitement, a feeling that she had almost forgotten after years of living on the edge. The complex feelings inside her are so intense, that everything around her seems to move slowly as if being transfixed in time.

"Please...please do it...so that I'll be able to get away from this curse..."

As she prayed for the young man's fall, another distant memory suddenly flashed inside her mind:

"Oh, you little...how many times do I have to tell you not to come here in this shrine, especially at this time?!"

"..."

Many years back, she found herself in a pickle with the old shrine caretaker in their village, as she managed to sneak inside despite having the entire place closed for repairs at the time. The shrine caretaker, familiar with the girl to some degree, only had her sit inside a room for detention instead of being immediately sent to the authorities, as he knew that the girl haven't stolen anything of value from all of her excursions inside the shrine.

"Even though you're not stealing anything from the shrine, what you're doing is still illegal, you know? You might get punished heavily for it. Even if you say that you're not doing anything wrong, do you think other people will believe you? What would your parents feel if they find out what their child is doing?"

"I...I'm sorry."

"Saying things like sorry isn't enough. You need to tell me first the reason why you're always here before I accept your apology."

Kneeling on the floor, the girl spoke:

"I...was praying to the gods...that bad things will come onto those people."

"Excuse me, what?!" the old man's eyes widened in shock.

"The people in the village...they say mean things about me and my parents...because of my strange power, that I was born on a cursed day. I can't take all of it anymore...that's why I'm asking the gods to punish them for me."

"Y-You..."

Although he didn't personally know the girl, he had heard a lot of stories about her: from the fact that a chain of unfortunate events happened following her birth and through the years to her ability to have most magic aimed towards her to apparently 'dissolve'—many unbelievable things have occurred around her that caused her to gain the ire of the people.

The shrine caretaker regretted not talking to her sooner, hence the reasoning behind her trespassing the shrine's vicinity.

"So you're thinking that if those people were to become unfortunate...your 'curse' will be lifted?"

"I'm not asking that my powers be gone...I just want those who are mean to me to be as miserable as me, or even worse. That way...I'll feel a little better about myself."

Hearing that, the old man sighed and said:

"I'm afraid it will not work."

"H-How so...?!"

"Because it's absurd for a person to pray for their misfortune!" the shrine caretaker exclaimed. "It's like you're inside a pit on the ground, with many people around you watching. As you keep on flinging dirt on their faces, the more you realize that you're making the pit you're standing at deeper and deeper, until such time when you can't climb back to the surface anymore. What you're doing...is just you hurting yourself by hurting other people, little child."

"Is that...really true, old man?"

"Regrettably, yes. That's why I'm saying this to you..."

Realizing her mistake, the girl started sobbing.

"T-That...I thought that..."

"It's alright. Cry with all your heart, if it makes you feel a little bit better."

And so, the girl did cry. She cried out loud, drowning all the pain she's suffered so far in her tears.

"Are you feeling well now?"

"Mm..." the girl nodded, having calmed down already.

"That's good. Well, since you're here, I'll give this to you as a gift," the old man said, holding a weird trinket in his hand.

"R-Really...? Thanks...—"

"Oops! Not so fast, little girl! Before I give this to you, I need you to promise me something."

"A promise...what is it?"

"Promise me, to be kind to others...even if they're not kind to you, even if they don't expect you to do so, even if they don't deserve it...for everyone's just as miserable as you in one way or another. Instead of inflicting more suffering into this world, turn your curse into a blessing and help those who are in need. Promise me...that whatever you do, you will never wish on other people's misfortune, ever again."

"Yes...I promise!"

"Good, good..."

And moving back again to the present, notwithstanding her becoming a person who has committed a lot of evil deeds, she found herself wishing for other people's misfortune once more, despite her promise to the old man many years ago. She was blinded and deceived, out of desperation, into doing the thing she detest the most.

She's already exiled from her community due to her crimes. The last thing she wanted, is to also be rejected by herself.

"No...more..."

"Hmm? You're saying something, nano?"

Grabbing the trinket on her chest, the girl firmly shouted—

"I WON'T LET ANYONE...SUFFER IN MY STEAD AGAIN!!!!!"

"W-What, nano?!!"

Using what's remaining of her special ability, she negated the curse on her bindings. Now broken free, she then grabbed the trinket in her chest and threw it up into the air and toward the giant flower in the sky.

"Don't you dare?!"

The lady, surprised by the girl's unexpected move, hurriedly used her shadow-like puppet to chase after the trinket, but before she could catch it in time...

"[Dissolve]!!!"

"NOOOOOOOO—?!"

At that instant the trinket, which contained the rest of her powers, began to emit a faintly glowing, rapidly expanding wave of energy, causing all the malevolent magic that touched it to quickly dissolve and vanished into the air—including the giant flower and the shadow being, who burst into flames before disappearing. It didn't take a long time before the crimson sky, which enveloped the entire town, went back into a bluish hue.

"T-That kind of power...it's so unbelievable—W-W-WAIIIITTT?!"

Ren, realizing too late that he also got caught by the wave, therefore nullifying his wind magic, started to plummet into the ground. Before he could hit the ground, though, something latched onto his arm and pulled him to the top of a building.

"Ugh, it hurts...I think I hit the back of my head somewhere..."

"S-Sorry...!"

"No, it's alright. Instead of apologizing to me, I want you to tell me everything I needed to know about the situation, okay, because all of this is really driving me nuts."

At his urging, the girl reluctantly told him about her life story. From her being 'cursed' with her nullifying ability, which greatly intrigued Ren, to her first encounter with the lady, resulting in her being involved in her plans. The more he learned about her, the more he felt sorry for the things she's gone through.

"Um...after hearing all of that, I think owe you an apology for all the things I said to you earlier. I didn't know that you're only doing it just to regain what's yours..."

"N-No, it's fine...I, I'm already used to it," the girl replied. "With almost all of my fighting capabilities removed from me...I feel freer than ever before...as if my 'curse' has been stripped off of me too. It was only when she came back to find me...that everything went bad again."

'That lady,' Ren thought. 'Just, what kind of person is she?'

"Is she...really that kind of powerful, that you can't do anything to stop her?"

"Nn. That lady...everyone in our place calls her the 'Queen'. It's said that her power's almost equal to that of the old gods, perhaps even more. When I took that contract from an unknown person...I didn't know that she was the one I'm targeting. That's why...believe me when I say that she's not a force for some time to reckon with."

Ren frowned at the things he was hearing. Of all the enemies he had faced so far, none of them claimed that their power was equal to that of Aoi, or any other god of the long past. He couldn't imagine how painful it is for the girl to know that her abilities are but a speck when compared to that lady.

"But..." taking a deep breath for a moment, the girl continued, saying: "despite her already immense power...she's not content with just that. All the people that she defeated...she took their power from them, including mine. She wanted more...that's why...that's why..."

"She's now aiming for mine, am I right?"

"Y-Yes..."

Although he also can do so thanks to the [Fool], he had never tried stealing other people's magic. Instead, he only copies them from his targets, and he has no current plans to change his stance on this matter.

"Haaah..." with a great sigh, Ren stood up and turned away from the girl, checking if he can use his abilities again.

When he confirmed that all of his Arcanas are in their normal state, including the [High Priestess], he then decided to—

"Hey, you! Do you hear me?! If you really want to have my power, then come and get it!!!"

"What...what are you doing?!?" the girl yelled in panic.

"Hm? I'm trying to get on her nerves so that she'll finally reveal herself I know that a person like her has ears all around us, perhaps listening to us right now, that's why if she really is worth her dime, then she should come here and not rely on her toys to get me."

"No...don't do that! You won't stand a chance against her—"

"Maybe, you're right. Maybe I'll just end up just like you, having most, if not all, of my powers taken away. Maybe I'll even end up dying in the process, in the worst case..."

"R-Right..."

"But I beg to differ," he said, facing the girl once more. "I'm not sure what will happen if I face her, but I don't believe that my defeat will be inevitable. I just learned today that nothing, especially in this world, has a guaranteed 100 percent chance of happening. That's why, I'd still cling to that chance of defeating her, no matter how slim it is. I'm only doing this for the people that had their abilities taken way...and for you."

"..."

The girl, dumbfounded by his words, couldn't help but look down. Her feeling's become a mess, especially when the person she tried to harm is now trying to help her.

"Are you...really sure about this?"

"Yeah. You did help me from destroying that flower or whatever that is, that's why we'll call it quits."

Still anxious, the girl spoke:

"T-Thank you...but what you're doing right now is unnecessary."

"Huh?"

She held two of her fingers up. "I can...assure you two things. First...that lady...even with her power...she can't come here immediately after you provoked her, or even the next day. That's just not possible considering her location."

"And the second thing...?"

"Nn. The second...and the most important thing is...—"

"—?!!"

Suddenly, Ren felt an extremely sharp pain in his body. From behind, a long and thick, the jagged blade was thrust into him, piercing through his chest and abdomen at an oblique angle, as if aiming for his heart.

"The second thing...is to not lower your guard, especially when I'm around, nano."