Though Migu's Eyes could only see the character presented to her, Energy was a reserved individual with many of his truest thoughts kept to himself. From his point of view, things looked quite a fair bit different...
"Migu, you..." I turned around briefly, "You're quite slow."
"Shut your trap, jackass!" She hissed back, tightly clutching her thigh, "And whose fault is that!?"
She's mad. It makes sense, I'd be mad too if someone did that to me. But I had no other choice, she would never help me traverse the jungle if I didn't offend her. My descendant is a real pain in the ass, though I guess I'm not too much different.
"Are you still angry?" I sighed.
"Just you wait! As soon as we find ONE of those bugs, I'll let myself die and revive without this damned wound you gave me!"
I... can't let that happen, for multiple reasons. Of course, reviving here means she'll be back to her previous state, but the only reason she's tagging along this time is to make that happen. If she revives back at full health, she'll just sit back down and try to make me do everything alone. Not to mention, I really don't wanna die anymore. I know I was the one who said we'd go for 10 deaths, but frankly speaking, I couldn't stomach any more than 8. Death is a horrifying experience no matter how swiftly your life gets taken. Just what the hell is she made out of...
"...What?" She glared, "Quit staring."
"I just have to ask, descendant." I cleared my throat, "How in the world is a weakling like you so unfazed by death's clasp?"
"Huh?" She tilted her head, "Are you taking the piss out of me?"
"Merely curious."
Answer the damned question! I'm genuinely puzzled over the fact anyone, let alone a person from a peaceful era, can just face death and shrug it off! Death is inevitable, undefeatable, so how are you not as sick as I am when just recalling the experience!?
"Meh, it's not like I really died." She figured.
"S-Still..."
"What can I say? Death is only scary to us because we don't know what'll happen after we kick the bucket." She then further elaborated, "But I know what happens when I die here. I get sent back, and without any of the injuries sustained past the jungle's entrance. Sure it's scary while I'm dying, but that only lasts a second or two at best."
"..."
This girl is a psychopath. I know it sounds weird, but I'm genuinely scared of her. Is... Is her era really safer than mine? To just casually shrug off literal death like that undoubtedly takes a whole other level of thinking, because even the strongest warriors of my time would cower and beg for their lives once the reaper approached with his scythe. In comparison, she strikes me as someone who probably arm wrestled death when the time came and actually won.
"Is revival commonplace in your time, somehow?" I felt a need to ask.
"Of course not, idiot." She then donned a wry smirk, "Oh, wait! Don't tell me you actually dislike dying?"
That smirk, wipe it off your face this instant. Ugh, when she starts teasing like this I just wanna smack her silly! A brat is a brat no matter the injuries sustained, it seems... But what do I say now? If I tell her the truth, I'm afraid that damned grin of hers will become permanently etched onto her face whenever I'm in view. I need to fix this posthaste.
"Tsk, what kind of a question is that?" I rolled my Eyes, "Who in their right mind likes death? Don't ask stupid questions."
"Oh, I guess that's true." She quieted down, "Yeah, you're from a cursed era, so I'm sure you saw plenty of death in your life."
"Yes, yes, so-"
"But then, why did you kill Vastoria?" She asked.
Stop asking me that! It was either I kill you guys or I die, end of story! If I had known you were in the same boat as me, I would have reconsidered, but there's no way I could've known! Seriously, I'm the bounty hunter, you're the bounty—Why in the world would I just ask you "Hey, is there a possibility that you guys were bounty hunters like me?" No! Why would such a question even cross my mind, especially since you never mentioned you were originally sent to kill Sab!
"..."
"What's the matter?" She only grew more distraught from my silence, "Finally realized just how fucked up what you did is?"
"...I did what I did." I finally gave up on trying to explain myself to her, "Past tense means there's nothing you can do about it now. No one can. I know it sounds heartless to say, but from one survivor to the next, please focus on the current goal. It was your idea in the first place for us to take on the Shrine as a team."
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Somehow, I succeeded in turning the situation around, for she fell silent as soon as I said that. She looked troubled for a while after that as we silently kept walking together. It was only now that I had realized my natural walking pace had slowed down so as to not leave her behind. Right, we're both hopping on one leg now, but I guess she's still not used to it.
"Piss off." She flinched the moment she saw me move closer to her, "Look, I did say we'll team up to reach the fourth floor, but I'm only using you to heal up."
Ah, so she's no longer suicidal. It appears I swayed her heart on the matter, which is good. A person... should fear death. It helps you appreciate life that much more in comparison.
"Be that as it may." I sighed defeatedly, "Your leg is wounded, so you're limping must make you feel uneasy."
"Yeah, and-!"
"And so, if you're gonna use me, then do so." I tapped my shoulder.
With an uncertain and befuddled look on her face, she nervously reached her arm over my neck as she leaned in for support. She despised this, I could tell, but her expression was no longer as pained every time she made a step.
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***
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"Close your Eyes!" I raised the Flasher, "Now!"
"H-Huh!?" She panickedly did as I told her, "Okay!"
We were moments away from getting mauled yet again. I guess we reached that part of the floor, after all. Since we were supporting each other, I didn't have time to cup my ears, but this was good too. If my theory is correct, this should prove effective against the winged chimeras.
"Byahhh!" The roach screamed, falling back for a moment.
"Migu!" I felt her slip away.
"Don't mind me!" She wobbled behind a nearby bush, "Flash it again, I'll throw rocks at it or something as well!"
Way to contribute, dammit. Just make sure you don't overdo it, you might sprain your shoulder! Ugh, kids these days... W-Wait, that just made me sound like an old man! Ugh, whatever. For now, I need to focus on killing this thing.
"Flasher incoming!" I announced, cupping my ears and closing my Eyes as I held it out at the beast, "Going in!"
Whipping out my trusty mallet, I launched myself as high as I could with my single leg before slamming hard on the beast's thick skin. Unsurprisingly, this wasn't enough to completely squish it, which led to it flying away.
"Tch, bastard... O-Ow, Migu, what are you...!?"
"Get away from him!" She shouted, tossing stones at me with her Eyes closed, "Now, gramps, smash its head in while it's distracted!"
This girl...! Ow, ow! Just how many rocks did you find back there, the hell!? Holy hell, girl, I got a sensitive brain resting in here, you know!? I barely managed to hop over to her before smacking the pile of rocks out of her arms.
"Gah!" She opened her Eyes, terrified of who just did that, "Wuh...? E-Energy?! But how, weren't you...? No wait, where's the bat roach!?"
"So you seriously didn't notice..." I chuckled, instinctively patting her head, "Rascal, I thought you were just using that as an excuse to throw rocks at me."
"Rascal? Now I know you're ancient, gramps." She moved her head away, "But that doesn't answer my question."
"Don't worry, that thing went away after I significantly wounded it." I explained, "Although, I expect us to see him again soon."
Although I said that, the beast really was on another level. Before, I could hold out the fork and use their own speed against them, but that won't work this time. Back then, all they did was lung straight at you, but now they have brains, so to speak. They sporadically change directions, slow down and speed up to make it more difficult to predict where they'll be, and even when blind and deaf they know to thrash around, making it more difficult to strike their heads. The bastards, how did they get so much better in such a short time...
"Does it hurt?" She suddenly said.
"Hm?"
"Your head." She pointed out on her own scalp, "It's bleeding like crazy."
"Fueh!?"
Quickly checking for myself with my hand, I felt no wetness of any sort, and even pulling my hand back showed no Red liquid. I only then realized I was the victim of a childish prank once I saw that damn annoying smirk on her face again.
"Y-You...!" I pointed a stern finger at her, "So you WERE throwing rocks at me knowingly!"
"Whatever do you mean, dear ancestor of mine?" She whistled innocently, "Besides, you're a warrior. You survived horrors beyond my comprehension, so why are you so scared of a couple of rocks?"
"Grrr...!!"
C-Calm down, Energy! She's just an idiot girl, she doesn't know any better. Yeah, this is just her little way to feel better about losing her, ugh, girlfriend. And besides, she's right! I survived so much, yet I'm about to prove to her that all it'll take for me to get mad are a few measly rocks? Deep breaths, man!
"Hm?" She noticed my calm expression and got fussy, "You're no fun."
"How about you save that vengeful attitude for after we get to the fourth floor?" I suggested, my smile curving in on itself, "Hmm~?"
"Eugh, scary." She scowled, "Fine, but if I see you mess up another kill, I won't hesitate to throw a boulder next."
"You can't lift something that heavy."
"Are you doubting me because you know you can't kill another one of those things?" She raised an Eyebrow, "So humans are just fine, but anything else is off the table? I gotta ask myself if you weren't just a troubled maniac who imagined the entire black Iro curse."
"You calling me mentally ill?"
"What do I know?" She shrugged, trudging ahead of me, "I'm just some crazed gramps' descendant, after all."
I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I miss Vastoria. She was so much more cooperative and quiet than this brat! Migu is cheeky, smug and annoying! In comparison, the useless klutzy girl that gouged my Eye out is the perfect companion! Though, I guess even Migu wouldn't have turned out like this if Vastoria was alive... No, the past is the past, and I can't change it. What the hell is wrong with me? Has this damp dungeon of a Shrine actually made me lose my marbles? I survived to think like this because I focused on the present, and that's how I intend to do this as well. Dammit, where'd she run off to now?
"AAAHHH!" Her scream came from around the corner.
"Tch, there's no way she came from my bloodline..."