"Kisara-san, there's sothing I'd like to ask you."
"What about?"
Kisara Tendou shot him a glance.
"It's not about your Initiator, is it?"
"That's exactly it."
Rentarou Satomi gave a wry smile. "I don't know how to interact with her. She won't respond no matter what I say."
Kisara folded her arms and leaned against the doorfra. Her expression was cool and utterly impassive.
"That's just how Initiators are. Before they beca Initiators, they were ordinary Cursed Children."
"…"
Rentarou's expression grew taut and serious. Cursed Children… What sort of suffering had they endured to beco so empty and hollow?
Enju Aihara would never forget the tornt of living like a hunted rat, despised by all, forced to survive in the city sewers. And yet now, she was seeing soone who claid they were willing to help her.
In the chat group:
Enju Aihara: "You…do you know who I am?"
Rei Ao: "I don't know your forr na, but it seems you're called Enju Aihara now. Right?"
Enju Aihara: "Yes, that's the na the Promoter just gave , but…that doesn't matter."
Enju Aihara: "A person like can never receive help."
Enju bowed her head. She knew full well that almost everyone despised the Cursed Children. No matter how miserable they were, sympathy would never co.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have been starving in the filthy sewers.
Kasuga Hijiri: "Why does our new mber sound so full of self-doubt?"
Yukinoshita Yukino: "I think you're right. Rember the first thing she said when she joined? She was talking about turning into a monster."
Shizue Izawa: "So she's infected with the Gastrea virus?"
Stella: "aning she's a patient. It's not unusual for those facing a terminal condition to feel hopeless."
Fubuki: "That Gastrea virus thing kind of reminds of my world's 'monsterfication,' but they usually don't have such an inferiority complex."
Erica: "@Fubuki, don't confuse folks with references nobody else gets, okay?"
Monsters? Who'd understand that…
Fubuki: "Uh… I'll keep that in mind."
Frieren: "I have a feeling it's not that simple."
Rei Ao: "Frieren, your intuition is correct."
Bibi Dong: "So there's more to this story?"
Rei Ao: "To be precise, she's a 'Cursed Child,' a kid with a fate far more tragic than any normal patient."
Enju Aihara froze. He knows about us? That's impossible… If he knows we're Cursed Children, why on earth would he want to help?
Clenching her small fists, she stared at the chat window, wondering if Rei Ao was mocking her like everyone else.
Rei Ao: "@Enju Aihara, I'm going to describe what Cursed Children go through for everyone else's sake. If it's accurate, would you confirm it?"
Enju Aihara: "…All right…"
When she gave her consent, Rei Ao explained the origin and plight of the Cursed Children, their existence and status in society.
The chat fell silent, all horrified by the cruelty. Even just hearing about a group of girls suffering such things was enough to spark outrage. But they held back, waiting for Enju to confirm it:
Enju Aihara: "…"
Enju Aihara: "Yes…that's what it's like for Cursed Children…"
Hearing everyone talk so clearly about the Cursed Children's suffering, she wasn't sure what this person's motive was. After she confird, the group exploded with heated discussion:
Mai Sakurajima: "So, that's how the Cursed Children are. And these girls are obviously innocent victims. Shifting hatred onto them is just wrong."
Saeko Busujima: "Indeed. The real enemy and source of hatred is the Gastrea—or deeper still, the Gastrea virus itself."
Saeko Busujima: "But from what Rei Ao says, the humans in that world are pinning the bla on these Cursed Children."
gumi Kato: "They don't deserve that misery."
Frieren: "If most people in that world treat so-called 'Cursed Children' like that, my impression is that their humanity is extrely twisted and dark."
Mikoto Misaka: "Hah. 'Twisted and dark' is putting it mildly. They're worse than mad scientists—downright inhuman!"
Bibi Dong: "Treating children like that… They deserve to die."
Nearly everyone voiced their anger. Not just the main chat, but other world sub-chats, too, brimd with indignation.
"They…"
Enju Aihara was stunned. Why are they so enraged about our suffering? Are there really people like this out there?
Rei Ao: "Heh, there's sothing even more ridiculous, you know."
Shinoa Hiiragi: "What is it?"
Rei Ao: "Do you all realize where the Gastrea virus ca from?"
Sui: "Wasn't it just an apocalyptic disaster?"
Aka: "But even an apocalypse must have a source—like how an empire's darkness has a root."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "I have a bad feeling."
Saeko Busujima: "Sa."
Yomogawa Aya: "Could it…could it be man-made, like the Kabane virus?"
Rei Ao: "Your guess is correct."
Rei Ao: "The Gastrea virus arose from human experintation and spread rapidly worldwide."
Miko Yotsuya: "What?! So humans created it?!"
Mikoto Misaka: "Heh. Why am I not surprised? No one knows the depths of insane science better than I do. Those researchers deserve to burn."
Shinoa Hiiragi: "Ridiculous—humanity itself made a monster that could destroy them."
Shiba Miyuki: "Even more ironic that they then turn around and treat these poor children as enemies."
Tohru: "It's exactly the kind of behavior I once believed humans capable of: cowardly bullying of the weak, arrogant self-importance."
Tohru: "Listening to this makes want to wipe them out."
Rei Ao: "Heh. If we get the chance, that's not entirely off the table."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "Huh?"
~~~
200 Powerstone Bonus Chapter!
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