Chapter 40: 40

Their Choice

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

Using a rope ladder, Itadori and Yumeji had escaped from the hut and were running along the road of Amusement Park, out of breath. The Ogre immediately noticed that they had escaped from the hut, but fortunately, it was slow and they managed to escape now.

–However, the stamina of elementary school students would eventually reach its limit. And there was one more problem.

“…Ku”

–Itadori was running frantically behind Yumeji, dragging her leg, which was in a lot of pain. She had sprained her ankle during the escape.

The rope ladder that hung inside the hut was fine for climbing up, but when the ladder hung outside, it was just a little too long to go down. Yumeji jumped down the remaining distance without difficulty, and Itadori did the same, but this was where the difference in innate physical ability came into play. Itadori failed to land on her feet.

She managed to cover it up and run while enduring the pain, but she was already at her limit.

-If Itadori fell down right here and now, what would Yumeji do? She might run away without paying attention, or she might stop and try to help Itadori. But either way, Itadori would not be saved.

“Yumeji-san!”

“What? I don’t have time to talk to you!”

Yumeji yelled back without looking back. No wonder, Demonic Beast – the blue Ogre – was approaching from behind.

Itadori stared at Yumeji’s back and narrowed her eyes in envy.

–I’m sure she’ll be able to handle it on her own. But it’s over for me.

The pain alone was still bearable. She almost wobbled and fell many times before running here, and the stabbing pain made it hard to think straight. It was only a matter of time before she collapsed.

Then, at least – let’s take action that I won’t regret. Thinking so, Itadori smiled as if she had given up on everything.

That day, Tsugumi-oniisan had said, “Choose the way you think is right”. If she chose the path that would save at least one person, then it was probably the correct answer. She was concerned about leaving her mother behind, but if Itadori had done something good, she would surely agree.

Itadori still didn’t like Yumeji, but she understood that it was a struggle to survive in her current situation. Besides, it was Itadori’s fault that she sprained her leg. Therefore, she shouldn’t involve Yumeji in her negligence.

“Let’s split up! I’ll go to the right, you run to the left!”

Itadori managed to muster up the energy to say so.

“Huh? What are you saying… Eh?”

Yumeji turned around as she ran and looked at Itadori with a stunned expression. Itadori’s complexion had turned pale and she was running while dragging a swollen right leg. It was obvious what was happening to her body.

‘Wait a minute, why didn’t you tell me earlier! How can you run in that condition…”

Just as Yumeji was about to stop, Itadori shouted as if howling.

“–Just look ahead and run! You know what I mean!”

With tears streaming down her face, Itadori yelled at Yumeji. Seeing her sword-like fierceness, Yumeji gulped.

–Even when Yumeji was bullying her, she never revealed her feeling like this.

Unable to hide her agitation, Yumeji wondered what she should do. …She was lost.

–Just as Itadori said, running away had to be the correct answer. There was no need to worry about a person who wasn’t close, to begin with. However, as if there were clouds filling up the heart, the hesitation to run away without her did not disappear.

…Because Yumeji didn’t know. She didn’t know that an attacking Demonic Beast was such a terrifying thing.

The gold bar in the blue Ogre’s hand and the cloth wrapped around its body were covered in reddish-black stains. What did that beast do before coming here? She could understand without thinking.

If Yumeji ran away from this place, Itadori would probably suffer the same fate as that stranger.

Yumeji might have a twisted personality, but she was not so evil that she could turn a blind eye to the horrific death of someone she knew. While holding down her throbbing chest, Yumeji suddenly uttered a thought that came to her.

“We should run away somewhere inside a building. If we do that, we might even be able to disperse it…!”

“It’s impossible. I can’t run anymore.”

Itadori said this as if she was breathless. Just like she said, her running speed was gradually slowing down, and the distance between her and the beast had shrunk to a few dozen meters. If she stopped even once, the Demonic Beast would catch up in no time.

Still, when Yumeji looked at Itadori with snarling eyes, she put on an expression like a weeping smile and said.

“Go on, Yumeji Nadeshiko! You are going to be a Magical Girl! Don’t stop at a place like this!”

With those words of Itadori at her back, Yumeji ran off in the direction to the left as if she had been played.

“–Ah, ah. Aaah!”

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The unspoken screams and overflowing tears never stopped.

–Why, why, why! How could you laugh like that!

Even for Itadori, the Demonic Beast was scary. There was no human being who wasn’t afraid to die. And yet, Itadori sacrificed herself to let Yumeji go.

Yumeji couldn’t understand this behavior and had no idea why she was so confused. Impatience, and regret. Complex emotions that she could not verbalize were swirling in the back of her chest.

So, Yumeji continued to run with passion. Crying, she turned the corner of a building, where she bumped into something with great force.

Yumeji fell on her buttocks, looked up with a blurred vision, and clung to the person standing there.

“Please! Save Itadori-san!”

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

–Ten minutes had passed since Yumeji ran away, but Itadori had not yet been caught by the beast. …To be accurate, it could be said that she was being played with.

The blue Ogre was following the limping Itadori at a certain distance with a smile. Perhaps it enjoyed watching Itadori’s face contorted into a look of horror.

Demonic Beasts fed on people’s negative emotions. The emotions Itadori was feeling right now must be delicious.

–But if I stop, it’s over.

Even without being told, Itadori sensed this fact. As long as she was moving and escaping, the beast would not attack. But if she stopped even once, it would swing the gold stick straight down on her. A toy that wouldn’t move was worth nothing.

Frightened by the fear of death approaching, Itadori muttered.

“…Liar. –You said you would come to my rescue.”

So he said, and Itadori shook her head a little.

In a corner of her mind, she had hoped that he would come to help. She had hoped that he would dash in and grab her hand. It was because of this faint hope that Itadori was able to give Yumeji some courage. In the end, that too did not come true.

–She already knew. That person couldn’t come to such a place.

“…Ah, uh.”

Shaking with fear, Itadori listened to the sound of footsteps approaching from behind. The heavy thudding sound was getting closer and closer to her side.

“…I don’t want to.”

Itadori crouched down to hold her head and said in a trembling voice.

“No! I don’t want to die! –Help me, Tsugumi-oniisan!”

Just as Itadori shouted this, there was a screeching sound of wheels grinding together, and at the same time, the sound of large objects colliding with each other echoed from behind.

Immediately after that, she could hear something popping, and in a flash, white smoke began to fill the area.

“What on earth…”

Coughing, she looked up softly and felt something warm grab her hand.

“No, let go of me!’

Itadori raised her other hand and tried to attack the opponent in front of her, but that hand was easily grabbed as well.

-Oh, it’s no use.

Just as she was about to open her eyes, a familiar voice could be heard right next to her.

“Are you okay?! Is there anywhere else that hurt besides your leg?”

She looked up with a start. –There he was, the hero she had been waiting for.

“Ah, ah, –Tsugumi-oniisan!”

Tears that should have already been shed were now flowing out one after another.

–He kept his promise. That fact made Itadori very happy. Even if this was a dream she was having at the last moment, it was fine. It even seemed like that.

Tsugumi gently held Itadori, who kept crying, and said in a gentle voice.

“I’m here to help you, as promised. Now, let’s get out of here.”

Itadori replied with a small “yes” and clung to him. She was too exhausted to say anything else. And then she let go of her consciousness, as if to sleep a little.

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