The Otherworld Was Way Too Brutal – After I Healed the Mutilated Girl, She Turned Into a Completely Obsessed Yandere Guard Dog - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Morning.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, making the dust in the room sparkle like tiny stars.

I took a deep breath and checked how my body felt inside.

Around my navel, the magic storage spot felt completely full and ready.

Thanks to yesterday’s rest and eating properly.

“…Alright.”

I clenched my fist and got up from the bed.

When I looked over, Tsugumi was already awake.

She sat on the edge of the bed, staring hard at the spot where her right foot should’ve been.

“Morning, Tsugumi.”

“Morning, Jin.”

Tsugumi lifted her face.

There wasn’t any sleepiness in her expression at all.

Her face was a mix of expectation, tension, and determination.

“You ready?”

“Yeah. I’m good anytime.”

Tsugumi gave a firm nod.

In the corner of the room, Cattleya stood with her arms crossed, quietly watching over us.

“Here we go, huh.”

“Yeah. This’ll make everything right again.”

I knelt down in front of Tsugumi.

Her right leg was missing from the knee down.

The scar where the magic beast had torn it off was now covered in smooth white skin, but the fact that nothing was there beyond that hadn’t changed.

“Here I go.”

I placed both hands on her right knee.

I could feel her warm body heat coming through.

I pictured it.

Same as when I did her left arm.

Extend the bone, form the joint, wrap the muscles around it, thread the nerves through.

Since legs have to support body weight way more than arms, bone density and muscle strength mattered even more.

“<Repair Evolve>—Level 4.”

The whole room flashed with blinding light.

“Nn… ghh…!”

Tsugumi choked the sound back deep in her throat.

The sharp, tearing pain of bones growing super fast.

The burning heat of flesh cells dividing over and over.

It should’ve felt like someone was stabbing a red-hot iron rod right through her.

But Tsugumi didn’t scream.

She gripped the sheets tight with both hands, sweat pouring down her face, and just endured it.

(She’s tough…)

I felt impressed and poured even more magic in.

My own stamina was draining fast.

Magic surged like a river straight into Tsugumi’s body.

The bones below her knee took shape.

Tibia, fibula.

Then the complicated little bones in the ankle.

Heel, arch, toes.

Muscles wrapped around them, blood vessels spread out, and finally the skin regrew over everything.

It only took a few minutes.

But to me it felt like hours.

The light slowly pulled back and faded…

“Haa… haa…!”

I dropped both hands to the floor and panted hard, shoulders heaving.

My magic was almost completely empty.

But it wasn’t the blackout-level exhaustion I had yesterday.

Maybe my body was starting to get used to using Level 4.

“…Ah.”

I heard Tsugumi’s voice.

I looked up.

There it was—a perfectly formed right leg.

Just like her left one: white, slender, but with healthy flesh.

It curved beautifully, like the missing part had never even existed.

“My… my leg…”

Tsugumi carefully moved her right foot.

Her ankle rotated. Her toes wiggled.

Proof the nerves were fully connected.

“Can you stand?”

When I held out my hand, Tsugumi grabbed it right away.

“Yeah… lemme try.”

She lifted her hips off the bed.

First she set her left foot on the floor.

Then she slowly lowered the brand-new right one.

Tap.

Her bare foot touched the wooden floor.

That coldness, that hardness.

It must’ve shot straight up to her brain.

Tsugumi’s shoulders jerked with a tiny shudder.

“…Cold.”

“Yeah.”

“Hard…”

“Yep.”

Tsugumi took a deep breath and put weight on both feet.

Her knees wobbled.

Her sense of balance, unused for so long, was screaming.

But she didn’t fall.

Slowly, she straightened her knees.

Her viewpoint rose higher.

And then.

Tsugumi stood on her own two feet, touching the ground.

“I’m… standing…”

Cattleya let out a quiet, amazed sound.

Tsugumi wobbled a little but took one step, then another, coming toward me.

It was completely different from when she could only crawl.

The angle she looked up at me from was different.

She stopped right in front of me and looked up.

Her height reached about my shoulder now.

The girl who used to curl up so small suddenly felt so big.

“Jin.”

“Congrats, Tsugumi.”

When I said that, Tsugumi broke into a huge smile and threw herself into my arms.

“Jin!!”

We tumbled backward onto the floor from the force.

But it didn’t hurt.

The warmth and weight of her whole body felt good.

“I stood up! I walked! Jin!”

“Yeah, I saw. You were amazing.”

“Thank you… thank you, Jin… I love you so much…!”

Tsugumi buried her face in the side of my neck and kissed me over and over.

I stroked her back.

From her spine down to her waist, all the way to her toes.

Nothing missing anywhere.

I’d finally done it.

In this brutal otherworld, I’d saved one single girl.

That sense of accomplishment soaked deep into my drained body.

But the emotional high didn’t last long.

Tsugumi stood up and turned toward Cattleya.

“Cattleya.”

“What.”

“You remember the promise?”

“…You mean teach me how to fight?”

Cattleya furrowed her brows, looking a little troubled.

“Your leg literally just got healed. Shouldn’t you start with walking practice—”

“I can walk. I can run.”

Tsugumi did a light jump right there.

Her landing was steady.

The muscles created by magic hadn’t atrophied at all.

They’d formed in perfect condition from the start.

“I wanna get strong as fast as possible. I wanna be able to protect Jin.”

A steady flame burned in Tsugumi’s eyes.

It wasn’t just the clingy obsession from depending on me anymore.

It was starting to look like the eyes of a warrior with a clear goal.

“…Geez. The head doctor over there wants to let you rest, y’know?”

Cattleya shot me a glance.

I gave a wry smile and shrugged.

“If she’s this motivated, there’s no stopping her. Plus, moving a reasonable amount might help it settle in faster anyway.”

“If you say so, then fine.”

Cattleya stood up, took off the sword at her waist, and set it in the corner.

Instead, she grabbed two pieces of firewood from beside the fireplace.

“Let’s go outside. I don’t want the room trashed.”

Behind the house was a small empty patch of ground.

That became our makeshift training spot.

Cattleya tossed one of the firewood sticks to Tsugumi.

“First, just swing it. Do whatever feels right.”

“Okay.”

Tsugumi gripped the stick tight.

Her first time holding a weapon.

But there was zero hesitation in her stance.

She wasn’t looking at Cattleya.

It felt like she was staring past her—at the invisible enemy, at every unfair thing that might try to hurt Jin.

“Yah!”

Tsugumi stepped in hard.

A sharp lunge.

Spring you wouldn’t expect from a leg that just got healed.

The stick sliced through the air.

Total beginner trajectory, but the killing intent was full-on pro level.

“Too slow.”

Cattleya just took half a step back to dodge, then lightly swept Tsugumi’s leg.

“Ah…!”

Tsugumi rolled clumsily.

Dust flew up.

Her white skin got smeared with dirt.

But she didn’t make a single groan.

She slapped the ground and popped right back up.

The light in her eyes hadn’t dimmed at all.

“One more time!”

She charged again.

Got knocked down.

Got back up.

Over and over.

I sat a little ways away and watched.

Honestly, I was surprised.

I’d thought Tsugumi was way more fragile.

Like a glass figurine that would break if I didn’t protect her.

But nope.

What was inside her was steel-strong.

Or maybe… this was madness.

“Madness born from love, huh.”

I heard Cattleya mutter under her breath.

While she handled Tsugumi’s attacks, she seemed to be sizing up her potential.

“Not bad. That step-in’s pretty good.”

“Haa… haa… haa…!”

“But your field of vision’s too narrow. You’re only seeing what you wanna protect. If you keep that up, both you and the thing you wanna protect are gonna die.”

Cattleya’s advice was sharp and brutal.

She was holding back strength-wise, but she wasn’t going easy.

Bruises kept appearing on Tsugumi’s body.

Most people would’ve started crying or given up by now.

But Tsugumi was smiling.

A fierce, toothy grin as she kept coming, covered in mud.

“…You having fun?”

I couldn’t help asking.

Tsugumi answered between rough breaths.

“Yeah… I can feel it. My body moving. I can tell I’m getting stronger.”

“I see.”

I felt kinda mixed up inside.

I was happy Tsugumi finally had a whole body.

But at the same time, it felt lonely—and a little scary—that she was stepping out of my hands and heading down a warrior’s path.

One hour later.

Tsugumi finally ran out of steam and collapsed flat on her back.

“That’s enough for today.”

Cattleya announced it.

She wasn’t even breathing hard.

“Your form’s not bad. And more than anything, you’ve got insane grit… Honestly, you might have more potential than Jin here.”

“Spare me. I’m the recovery guy.”

“Recovery guys don’t charge to the front lines, y’know?”

Cattleya threw some sarcasm my way and I just gave a tired laugh.

I walked over to Tsugumi where she lay and held my hand out.

“I’ll heal you.”

“…No, it’s okay.”

Tsugumi stopped my hand.

“Huh?”

“This pain is proof I worked hard. Plus, it’s a waste of your magic, right?”

“But it’s not that much…”

“No way. Save it for when we really need it.”

Tsugumi wouldn’t budge.

She got up—still covered in mud—and flashed a big grin.

“I wanna take a bath…”

“…Yeah. Let’s heat some water.”

We went back inside the house.

Tsugumi didn’t have to crawl anymore.

She walked right beside me, solidly on her own two feet.

That night.

Tsugumi was so exhausted she slept like the dead.

Her right foot, sticking out from under the blanket, twitched a little with each breath she took.

I stood by the window, looking up at the night sky.

The moon was beautiful.

“…Can’t sleep?”

Cattleya’s voice came from behind me.

“Yeah, a little. Maybe I’m too hyped up.”

“Can’t blame you. You finally achieved something you’ve been chasing for years.”

Cattleya came and stood next to me.

She looked up at the moon too.

“But the real fight starts now.”

“I know.”

Genzou Sumeragi.

That monster had gotten younger again and regained his power.

He straight-up said we belonged to him.

Plus the ecosystem collapse in the northern forest.

Inside and outside the town, everything’s a powder keg.

“Tsugumi’s leg is healed. But that just means she’s finally standing at the starting line.”

“Yeah. The moment what you need to protect becomes whole, the fear of losing it gets way bigger.”

Cattleya’s words hit the truth dead-on.

When something was missing, the goal was just to fill it.

Now that it’s filled, the goal becomes keeping it, protecting it.

And that’s way harder than the first part.

“I need to get stronger. Level 4… no, beyond that.”

My skill <Repair Evolve>.

At Level 4 I could regenerate limbs and organs.

So what about Level 5?

What comes after?

Genzou had talked about overcoming aging, transcending death.

If I could reach that level, I’d basically have god-like power.

But at the same time, I’d probably step way outside what it means to be human.

“I’ll stick with you. I wanna see how far you go.”

Cattleya slapped my shoulder.

That strong, solid feeling made me feel saved somehow.

“Thanks, partner.”

I smiled at Cattleya.

From the back of the room, Tsugumi mumbled in her sleep.

“Jin… I’ll protect you…”

I turned around and looked at the sleeping face of the girl I loved.

Her now-complete body.

My strongest ally, and everything I needed to protect.

Our new life was starting.

And somehow I could already tell—the days ahead were gonna be even more brutal, and way more intense.