The Healer in a Japanese-Style Game World: Mastering Healing to Save My Favorite Character in a Brutal World, Only to Find Everyone Around Me Becoming Obsessed - Chapter 19: Encounter

Chapter 19: Encounter

This is bad, really bad.

I messed up. I did the one thing you should never do when encountering this creature. This beast is unfair—it steals the sight of anyone who locks eyes with it.

“This is the worst!”

If that was all, I could have managed with a debuff removal spell, but this creature’s ability is classified as a forced blessing, which cannot be dispelled.

In the pitch-black darkness, I tried to rely on sound and sense detection, but I couldn’t locate the faint presence of the Moonlit fox that ruled the night’s shadows.

Like the moon reflected on the water’s surface, only an illusionary presence filled the surroundings. Unable to detect its existence, I was hit by its unreasonable attack. In a game, losing sight would just limit my vision, but in reality, it’s way too harsh.

If I had combat skills, I might have been able to fight by relying on sound, but I didn’t have that kind of talent.

“―Master!”

I heard Makami’s voice, and something grabbed my arm. In an instant, I was thrown onto a sleek, furred surface.

“Master, why didn’t you dodge!?”

“My sight was taken, Makami. Don’t look it in the eyes!”

“Understood. Then Makami will help you. Master, make me your subordinate, accept Makami, make me yours—then surely…”

At the moment Makami said that, there was a whooshing sound as something passed by.

Makami moved quickly to avoid it, but it was probably the creature’s tail. The spear-like tail of that fox is its main weapon. A direct hit with my current durability would be instant death.

“Makami, what do I need to do to make you my subordinate!?”

“Drink Makami’s blood. If you drink it, your existence will strengthen, and you will become stronger. If your strength increases, your existence will sublimate, and the curse will be lifted… But you will become less human—and if it fails, you won’t be able to return.”

…Not human anymore.

Just thinking about it was terrifying.

I couldn’t fully understand the price, but Makami wouldn’t lie. Accepting that contract would definitely make me something other than human.

But to fight against this absurdity, I didn’t have time to think about such things. Moreover, there was no guarantee of success, and from the way Makami spoke, if it failed, something bad would happen.

“Okay. I trust you, Makami.”

Surviving and returning to Kagura with Makami was all that mattered.

My life belongs to Kagura. Making such a decision on my own was something I hesitated to do, but… if Makami believed I could endure it, then not trusting her was not an option.

“Then—touch my side, Master.”

Following her instructions, I groped around and felt something slimy on my hand.

It was the sensation of blood, and though I could imagine what had happened—I didn’t have time to dwell on it now, so I trusted her and put it in my mouth.

[Notice from the system, confirmation of forced experience through divine blood—Subjugation contract proposal from Obsidian Fang Makami confirmed—Passing through host Yomi’s will… Increasing the target’s existential strength.]

At that moment, I heard a mechanical voice.

Even though my consciousness began to fade, I strongly felt Makami’s blood flowing through my body.

The blood I drank began to blend with my body.

The clear sensation of it settling within me made my body heat up, and I felt a burning pain in my throat. In that instant, my vision cleared, and it felt as if I had been reborn. My fatigue and the spiritual power I had used along the way were restored.

[Condition fulfilled due to increased existential strength, unlocking the Grace of Calamity…Law of Lightning.]

Finally, the mechanical voice conveyed this, and a chant floated into my mind. It emerged from my mouth naturally as a song,

“I, who serve the Malevolent Kagura, pray… Descend from the underworld and deliver divine punishment, consuming the curses—sing, yearn, and become hollow. I bring forth—the roaring thunder of Narukami, the Law of Lightning.”

￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣

Name: Yomi 

Existence Strength: Lightning

Titles:

[Beloved Child of Eighty Calamities]

[Subjugator of the Black Wolf]

[Holder of the Law of Lightning]

Life Force: 50

Spiritual Power: 1200 + 150

Strength: 24 + 30

Dexterity: 50

Defense: 10

Speed: 14 + 200

Spiritual Techniques:

Physical Reinforcement

Healing Prayer

Curse Removal Prayer

Spirit Sight

Barrier Techniques

Divine Skills:

‘Grace of Calamity’…Borrow the authority of Kagura, the Eighty Calamities.

Law of Lightning: Imbues spiritual power with the lightning attribute.

Physical Transformation: Thunder God

Transformation of Existential Strength

Duration – Four minutes

Insufficient Existential Strength

‘Feast of Ōkamuzumi’… Resistance to demonic disturbances.

‘Food of the Underworld’… Resistance to curses, miasma, and demonic energy.

Subjugator of the Black Wolf: Grants the right to summon Obsidian Fang Makami.

[???]…[???]

￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣

And then my status changed.

It showed the same abnormal power as the first time I used it. 

My existential strength was still insufficient, so the time limit was short—but this new power increased my speed, which was perfect for dealing with the incredibly fast Moonlit Fox.

“Alright—let’s do this, Makami.”

“Yes, let’s fight… Master.”

Standing beside Makami, now transformed into a wolf, I spoke. 

Our opponent was unreasonable, one of the endgame bosses of this world. 

But with my current self and Makami, we could surely—fight.

The fox we faced growled, suspicious of my sudden change in presence. It stood protectively in front of the frightened wild foxes… and then the battle began.

“Thunder Slash!”

I made the first move. 

Enveloping my blade with lightning, I transformed my very being into lightning and charged at the fox with incredible speed. With a single slash, my blade struck the fox, dealing damage.

“—”

A silent scream, but the opponent did not falter and shot fiery stakes at me. 

The blue flames rushed toward my lightning form, but they couldn’t hit me now. I used my increased agility to dodge every one of them.

And I wasn’t the only one attacking.

“—!”

Makami, in perfect condition, lunged at the fox, striking with her claws.

Using her agility, Makami’s attack landed directly, leaving visible wounds on the fox’s body. As I tried to approach again, the Moonlit fox whipped its tail, creating a gust of wind to distance itself from me.

“—You’re not getting away!”

I transformed lightning into a spear and prepared to throw it, but then I saw something. The wild foxes that had been there earlier were now hidden within the Moonlit Fox’s tails. 

Somehow, all the foxes had vanished into its tails.

“Oboro-sama, stop!”

“That human is not an enemy!”

“Makami is helping too!”

“—”

With an inaudible scream, the Moonlit Fox fought while protecting the wild foxes, struggling in pain. I realized there was a miasma emanating from it that I hadn’t sensed before. 

Feeling something was off, I decided to approach with determination. Dodging the spear-like tails as I got closer, one of the tails grazed my body, but I kept moving forward.

“—”

Chanting a prayer, I used a purification spell to cleanse her of the miasma. 

But in doing so, the damage I sustained and the time limit of my powers caused me to lose consciousness.