Chapter 9: Chapter 9

This afternoon is when our group arrived at the Defense Station in Moriste. After talking to the leader, we were then immediately led to the research facility, which was basically a whole bunch of laboratories piled on top of each other.

I then spent the entire rest of the night answering question after question. When I reminded them that I needed dinner, someone scrambled to grab theirs and just shoved it in front of me so they could keep asking questions without stopping.

During all that commotion, they were also preparing to begin tests first thing in the morning based on the information I was providing. I saw all sorts of equipment being moved around, and people were disassembling some things to provide parts for others. It was the very definition of organized chaos.

The questions I answered were about pretty much every single aspect of myself, which was embarrassing. Having a horde of alien scientists starving for your every word was unnerving, but it’s not like I didn’t understand.

They agreed with me on my theory that the curse’s optimization is what changed my body beyond just making it more combat capable. They had come up with similar theories over the years about why some people’s bodies changed the way that they did, so this was another aspect of the curse that they now had a better understanding of.

Thankfully, no one cared at all that I was transgender. I hadn’t been particularly worried about it, however. If I were on Earth, then I probably would’ve been.

When I was discussing everything I knew about the nanites, there were two things I had to make clear. The first was that they had been designed to work specifically with my body. The second was that magic might’ve changed that first fact completely.

At the end of it all, I collapsed into a bed they provided and almost instantly fell asleep. I vaguely remembered latching onto Izzy before falling unconscious.

———

The next morning was the beginning of both mundane and magical tests. Because my nanites are what saved me, they wanted to see if they could reproduce them or use them for other people.

They took several blood samples, some of which were examined under microscopes and others with magic tools. I don’t know what those other tools are, but they asked me questions about everything they noticed and I provided as much as I could about anything at all that might be related.

Other than the blood samples, they also began numerous types of scans with other magic tools. Some of them felt a little odd, but mostly, they just took up a lot of time. It was endless testing, and I had to remind them that I needed food again.

This time, they left me alone while I was eating, which I gratefully used to snuggle with Izzy. While I was busy undergoing rigorous testing, the nine others from our travel group had taken a few tests of their own in addition to answering questions. They were told that this most likely wouldn’t result in anything, but that they wanted to be thorough.

Something we hadn’t considered when we set out is how beneficial having other humans in our group would be. As they were also from Earth, they were able to fill in a lot of the gaps in my knowledge. I was thankful because I was already answering questions basically nonstop.

Kyle was also on a lunch break at the moment and was snuggled up with Sarrin and Rhem. Izzy and I had taken to calling this the “Kyle Pile”, which he liked probably a little too much.

After a week of testing, they had gotten all the short-term information out of me that they could. Some of their tests would require monitoring and check-ins, but my time was at last freed up to an extent. They wanted me to stay near, however, so we had taken to helping out around the facility.

They did say that they managed to figure out something about the curse that they hadn’t been able to before. Specimens they had analyzed in the past basically showed the entire curse at once.

In my case, it was completely gone, but traces of what it did were still there. They pointed out that the traces weren’t harmful to me at all, and compared them to indications of wear on my armor. Signs of having been through something, essentially. And based on those marks, they could determine some things.

I don’t know anything about curses except that they suck, but if I thought about it like armor, it kind of made sense. Like, if there were four gouges in my armor all next to each other, those came from a claw strike. If there was a part that looked splotchy and melted, it came from acid. Things like that.

———

The testing continued for another week and a half. Word had spread about me, so residents of the city were fervently doing whatever they could to help with the research.

The scientists had begun working with enchanters to manufacture a countermeasure against the Cursed Ones. They actually kept a few captured ones locked away deep underground and in quarantined areas for times like this.

It took them several attempts, but they finally created something that could deal with them. It was a spike that could be controlled with earth magic and pierced into a Cursed One. It had several enchantments embedded within it that would hijack the curse, and rewrite its targets from people to other Cursed Ones. It would also spread among them the same way the curse did among people.

This meant that not only would the Cursed Ones kill each other, but also that they would begin starving to death as the anti-curse spread.

Some mathematical models were created, and they determined that the anti-curse would spread faster than the regular curse would. It was mostly because the Cursed Ones weren’t protected behind walls and barriers like people were. They were also stupid, so they wouldn’t be aware of what was happening.

In one way, I was glad that this was the solution, and in another I was sad. As the nanites cleared the curse from my head, I had become more and more aware of my surroundings and everything I’d been doing. I didn’t forget all the things I did during that time.

That means that if the Cursed Ones were cured rather than killed, they would likely be aware of just how many people they had personally killed and eaten, possibly even people they were close with.

I can’t even begin to fathom how horrible and disgusting I would feel if I hadn’t been able to resist the urge to attack Asallte. I would’ve eaten someone or died trying. If I did eat someone and was cured afterward, I’d probably be having endless nightmares about it at best.

———

For the first time in three years, we heard the alarm bells of a Cursed One attack. Izzy immediately wrapped her arms around me as if to prevent a repeat of last time.

“I’ll be okay this time,” I told her, hugging her back. “They won’t even let us leave the facility right now because we’re important. We’re also a lot stronger, there are those spikes they’ve been making, and more than anything,” I kissed the top of her head, “I have you right here with me from the start.”

“Yeah,” she said into my chest. She was shaking. “That day was so horrible, Ivy. One second, you were right behind me, and the next… I saw your skin turning white as you were being pulled into the sky.”

We stayed like that for a minute, but soon separated to head to the safe area they had prepared for us and gear up in case any of them made it through. It was frustrating to not be able to help out directly, but this is where we would be the most useful.

We three humans were the only ones in here, and it was eerily silent surrounded by these thick walls. Someone would get us when the attack was over, but until then, we couldn’t do anything but wait. We sat down on the sofa and just held each other. Kyle had it especially bad because his BF and GF were out there fighting.

Several hours passed before one of the scientists unlocked the door with a huge smile on her face. We all breathed out in relief, our tension gone.

“So it worked, I take it?” I asked her. I already knew she had good news, but I wanted to hear the details.

“Yes! It’s a shame you didn’t get to see it, but the anti-curse spread and there were significantly fewer casualties than last time! The surviving ones were driven off after they lost interest in people and had no other regular Cursed Ones to target, and they will hopefully spread it further!”

She ran up and hugged me. I chuckled and awkwardly hugged her back, “That’s good! Does that mean we can leave now? Not just this room, but the whole facility?”

“I don’t know the answer to that, but they’ll likely want to finish up the few tests they’re still running just in case. Now, come on! Everyone’s celebrating!”

When we reached the main area, people were talking excitedly with each other. When I entered, they all started cheering for me.

It all felt a bit strange to me because they’re the smart ones who did all the work, but I guess it was quite the ordeal just getting here.

No, people literally died so I could stand here right now. I need to remember that. I’m not a genius or anything, but the last two years of constantly walking, fighting and fearing for our lives wasn't something just anyone could've done.

The party had a few people playing instruments, singing a few games and, something I hadn’t seen in this world yet, alcohol.

Very little of it was made as it wasn’t a necessity, and it was only brought out on very special occasions. Not even surviving a horde of Cursed Ones was considered special enough to bring it out.

It was also fascinating to think about how so many different species from different worlds could all drink the same thing and all turn into the same drunk idiots. I did notice a few outliers with other drinks who still seemed to be getting drunk, but I’d worry about small stuff like that some other time.

The party was citywide and lasted all through the night and into the morning. The day after, everyone’s work was noticeably hindered by either themselves or others. But nobody cared. Despite the hangovers and lack of sleep, they’d never felt happier than right now.

The day after that, work was pretty much back to normal. Just because one attack from a horde turned out so well for us didn’t mean that the next one wouldn’t. People were going to continue remaining vigilant for a long time still.

———

As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, more attacks did happen, but they were becoming a little more spaced out every time and each one seemed slightly smaller than the one before it. Beginning with the second attack since our arrival, they always had more spikes prepared.

Some people had also begun shipping the spikes and how to make them out of the city, but those amounts were still in small numbers.

It occurred to me that I hadn’t questioned where all the Cursed Ones were always coming from, given that most attacks were repelled. It turns out that there are actually a ton of people out there who are sick of being attacked from behind walls, so they go off on their own or in small groups, where their smaller numbers are less likely to draw attention to themselves.

Most of those people get picked off, and once enough Cursed Ones have gathered, they attack a city. Despite being mindless, a part of the curse has them work in groups when possible. The fact that we actually survived to make it here suddenly felt much more impressive and lucky.

The tests on me had finished up, and we were now free to go back to what counted as normal for us. I had taken to walking around without my illusion up, and people had gotten used to seeing me. Now I only put it up whenever there was an attack and for a couple days after it was over.

Other than wanting people to get used to me, another reason I didn’t have my illusion up very much anymore was that no matter what illusion I used, I was always the same shape, and people had learned to recognize that shape. It also didn’t help that I was frequently seen with Izzy, who didn’t use illusions, but that didn’t bother me.

People insisted on giving us a place to ourselves as a thank you gift, so we ended up with a small house that had two bedrooms. One for me and Izzy and the other for Kyle, Sarrin and Rhem.

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The others we’d traveled with were still our friends, but the five of us were sort of a special group, according to them. They also didn’t want to be a single person in a house that had five people in relationships. They still visited often, though, when there was enough free time.

“I love hugging you so much,” Izzy said, wrapped around me.

“That’s just because your face is at boob height,” I replied.

“That’s just a bonus.”

She sighed happily into my chest, tickling me slightly. “I’m glad the world is finally easing up a bit.”

“Yeah. Several years from now, I bet traveling will be so much easier. They did used to have trains, after all. I can’t wait to just go out and enjoy stuff again.”

“How did places still have monster problems even as technology and weapons advanced?”

“Apparently, there’s some kind of weird balance that makes monsters stronger and more numerous when stuff like that happens. I know I read that at some point.

“The monsters we have now are on the stronger side, which is theorized to be a result of all the summonings even though the population was always shrinking.”

“Hm. I wonder what society is going to be like, what with the apocalypse ending and so many thousands of people abducted from countless worlds.”

“Other than the people not being able to return part, I think it could be really fun. I feel super bad for everyone who was abducted.”

“…How do you think everyone on Earth is doing?”

“Our friends are probably weebing out over whatever the most recent anime is.”

“I bet the isekai genre has seen a resurgence in popularity because of what happened.”

“Let’s just not.”

She giggled. “I also bet that not even a single person on Earth has any idea how to use a sword or cast a spell. So unreasonable.”

“Those sad, pathetic humans.”

“We could bring anime to this world.”

“I’d rather we weren’t the ones to inflict that upon the masses. There are people way weebier than us who will do that anyway.”

“Are you aware that you’re going to be the subject of many stories?”

“Guh.”

Giggling, she continued, “I’d watch an anime about you.”

“You’d better be my costar.”

“Well, there’s no you without me, now is there?”

“For sure. I’ll make sure the entire world sees an animated version of that time you farted on stream and how I valiantly took the blame.”

“You are aware that I have just as much dirt on you as you have on me, right?”

“Hmph. Your threats are meaningless.”

Her face went from a smug smile to looking sad. “…I still worry about my mom and siblings a lot. What do they think happened to me? Are they doing okay?”

“I think they’re probably sad, but persevering. They’ve always been strong people. My family’s the same, though I think they’d be disappointed in me for becoming a white person.”

She snorted. “Do you think people are studying the place we disappeared from?”

“Definitely. Though, I kind of worry about what will happen if Earth figures out how to interact with other worlds. At least the people of most worlds have magic, meaning they’re generally stronger and would be harder to fuck with. Not just on an individual level, but possibly technologically as well.

“From what we know of the technology people had access to before the curse spread, they seemed to be behind where Earth was by a couple decades in some ways and ahead of us in others.”

We held each other in silence for several minutes.

“Ivy,” she said.

“Hm?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“I love you a whole lot.”

“I love you a whole lot plus one.”

“Dork.”

“Nerd.”

“We should get married.”

“I…! Yeah. Yeah! We should!”

“Well, let me say it properly, then. Ivy, will you marry me?”

“Of course I will,” I replied happily.

We kissed and held it for a long time.

“Sorry I didn’t get you a ring or anything,” she said when we broke apart.

I rolled my eyes. “As if saving the world together isn’t equal to or greater than a ring.”

She pouted cutely.

Seeing her adorable expression, I chuckled and shook my head. “Sorry. We should still get rings, of course. I wasn’t saying we shouldn’t.”

“Good. We should get Rhem to help us find something. He surprisingly has an eye for that kind of thing.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “I love you, Izzy. I’m so happy you’re in my life.”

She kissed me. “I love you, too. From when we met in that server about magical girls all the way to this old, little house in another world, I’ve always been happy you were there.”

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