Chastity When It Counts

A team of four paramedics transported Raven to the closest hospital. They placed her in a magical healing tube during the trip. By the time they arrived at the destination, Raven’s condition had already stabilized. I could no longer glimpse into her body with quasi-omniscience. However, the paramedics also commented that the magical tool couldn’t heal all of Raven’s injuries; she would still need to stay at the hospital for at least a month.

They moved her onto a gurney and got her into the hospital through a side entrance. One of them carried along the box of magical tools from Raven’s house, perhaps acting under War’s instructions.

We ended up in a private room. The paramedics heaved Raven onto the hospital bed. “Death-sama, we have another job to do. A doctor will arrive soon,” one of them said. Before I could turn visible to reply, they had already left in a hurry.

War, that slimy bastard, will he really give me something to heal Raven?

I poked my finger into the mattress. It responded to my touch, a sign that I could interact with the physical world again. The first thing I did was take the belt off Raven and toss it into the box with the rest of the magical items, just in case of any misfires when she woke up.

I tried to distract myself by consulting my quasi-omniscience about the aftermath of Pestilence’s biological attacks around Tokyo. I even turned my attention to the deaths around the world, in contrast to my usual aversion to them. Reminders of those demises were comforting, since they would take my mind away from heavier thoughts. Thoughts of the possibility that, despite the reassurance of the paramedics, Raven would never wake up.

I didn’t pay much attention to an earsplitting crack, but what happened afterwards demanded my focus. My prayers for a diversion were answered in the worst way possible. I was pinned to the wall.

How? I should’ve been invisible.

My question was answered as soon as I glanced at the weapon that skewered me. It was the Heavenly Jeweled Spear. The OP Spear.

Upon recognizing this magical artifact, I could already guess the person responsible. Sure enough, a few seconds later, an unwelcome guest waltzed in, past the broken door. It was E.T., the person I had been desperately searching for.

His mess of black hair looked more like an unmade bed. Wrinkles on his face added twenty years to his apparent age. His mysterious handsomeness had deformed into straight homelessness.

He clutched the handle of the Eight-Hand Mirror, as if it were a tennis racket. A blob of dark water trailed behind him, controlled by the Tide Jewels bracelets on his wrists. The liquid smelled so repulsive that I wondered whether a spirit could vomit.

With a swipe of his right arm, the orange Tide Jewel glowed, and the water lurched towards the hospital bed. It split out tendrils to slide under Raven’s back.

“Don’t move her! She isn’t completely healed yet!” I yelled.

No response; E.T. pretended as if I didn’t exist. The bright side was that with his concentration seemingly shifted to controlling the water, the spear on my body splintered into nothing.

I leaped to grab the magical headband from the box. Fighting against my instincts, my hand reached forth to touch the hideous water. It’s fine; I’m an immaterial spirit. But the water still felt slushy. I held back my desire to retract my hand. Ice developed along the mass of fluid until the whole glob of water solidified into stillness.

E.T. tilted the mirror at various angles so that he could see the entire room through it. Like Raven and I, he didn’t show up in the mirror image. My headband did. Its reflection even emitted a faint but conspicuous glow.

The spear blinked into E.T.’s hand again. He whirled around and tossed it. The weapon didn’t slow down even as it stabbed into the headband. Once it hit the wall, electricity radiated throughout the headband, and the accessory crumbled into dust. The spear ruptured into nothingness after its job was done.

I snatched the magical belt from the box. At the same time, the ice cracked, and the rancid liquid broke free. My outpouring of grass needles was effortlessly blocked by a shield of water. That stalled long enough for the spear to be ready again. E.T. adjusted the mirror to get a clear look at my belt.

With a bam and a hiss, the spear pinned the belt to the wall and vaporized it, just as it destroyed the headband. Seeing the fate of my magical items made me glad that I didn’t appear in the mirror.

The situation might have seemed hopeless at first glance, but after each use of the spear, more sweat built upon E.T.’s forehead; his breathing faltered into an uneven pace. All of the water controlled by E.T. lost its shape, dropping back into a puddle.

While panting like a dog, E.T. staggered towards Raven. His movement made him seem like a usually sedentary person taking on a hike. I charged at him, tackling him to the floor. I reached for his neck like the last time we fought. And E.T. countered my attack in the same way; with the spear flickering in his hand, he stabbed me with it again.

I was about to yell something to distract him again, but that became unnecessary. The spear wouldn’t be restricting me any longer.

Because Raven stirred on her bed, and the next thing I felt was the fluffy surface of the mattress. I was back in Raven’s body. The first sight that greeted her was E.T. standing next to the bed.

“Karasuya-san, you are finally awake! I’m here to save you.” E.T. squeezed out an exclamation, even while he seemed to be close to fainting. Raven blinked; she even rubbed her eyes, but the nuisance didn’t disappear.

“Yes, he is really here. You aren’t hallucinating.” In response to my telepathic message, a long exhale gushed out of Raven’s lips.

E.T. didn’t notice her reaction at all. “Midorikawa Karasuya, I love you. I can’t go on without you. You are the only person who understands me. So, be with me again. We can continue our purpose together. Let’s make the world a better place,” he said as if reciting from a script; not a single blink the whole time he was speaking. His facial muscles were stiff, jarring with his passionate speech.

Raven fidgeted, tapping her palm. Perhaps this was a signal for me to deal with him. I could think of the most dramatic declarations to reject him, but… “Whatever I say would sound fake to him; you have to be the one to speak,” I said.

Even if I could have tricked E.T., this was something she had to say herself.

E.T. offered his hand to Raven. She bored her eyes into his open palm, as if there was text written there for her to read. Finally, she gathered up a breath to speak. “But I don’t love you. Not anymore.”

A silence came first. E.T.’s arm went limp; he staggered backwards, barely keeping his balance. He maintained the rigidity on his face. I didn’t take this as good news, because he had the same expression when he fought me.

“You’re Yonna-san,” he stated as if this were a proven fact.

“Yonna-san? No, I’m not.” Raven grimaced; maybe she also found E.T.’s reaction odd.

E.T. reached out his arm to the side. I immediately recognized his intention.

He wanted to attack Raven with the spear.

Dodging wasn’t possible. Unlike my spirit or Pestilence’s body, Raven wouldn’t survive being impaled, so even attempts to distract him were risky. I turned to the box on the floor and seized the last remaining magical item inside it, the Hama Yumi. My sudden movements provoked an ache in Raven’s still-recovering body.

Usually, the Hama Yumi would be no match for the OP Spear. The chasm between a bow made for men and a spear befitting gods was just too expansive.

But I stood a chance, only if my conviction was strong enough.

Sparks encircled E.T.’s hand; I probably had only seconds. Pulling back the string, no arrow appeared. The bow hadn’t recognized my conviction. I had to force it to.

The time I’d spent with Zoe surfaced in my mind again, along with her final words to me. I didn’t want to remember her; I certainly didn’t, but…

A dazzling arrow sparkled into existence. I drew the bow back further until the string was at its tautest.

Despite how painful our final few days together were, the days when Zoe was my host still feel precious.

“Raven! Listen to me!” I spoke. The contour of the spear emerged. At this point, my arrow still wasn’t powerful enough to win. More thoughts whipped up within me.

Maybe the same thing would happen with Raven. Maybe I would do something that would lead her to hate me forever. Maybe she would curse me as Zoe did. These insecurities had caused the arrow to flicker.

“Is it the time for this? Should we run away?” Raven asked.

Her voice freed me from my downward spiral, reminding me of a simple truth. Despite what would hold in the future, I didn't want her to die. I want her to live out her finite life. Because I saw Zoe in her.

My newfound resolve fed the arrow’s light, brighter than before.

“Trust me and listen!” I shouted.

There was more. In the beginning, I did only see Raven as another Zoe, but as we spent our days in the same body, she had ironically become her own person to me. The spear had completed materializing in E.T.’s hand.

“Raven, will you be my friend?” I followed up with a question. Colors blasted out from the arrow; rainbows spun out like ribbons.

“What?” Raven asked.

I released the bowstring as E.T. threw his weapon. The arrow met the spear midair. The two sharp tips blocked each other from passing.

E.T., you fucker! Let’s see who cares about her more! YOU OR ME!

The standoff between the instruments went on, suspended above the earth; even gravity wouldn’t interrupt this fierce clash between two magical artifacts. Neither conceded any ground.

“What I meant was, I care about you, and I WANT. TO. BE. YOUR. FRIEND!” I yelled out loud using Raven’s voice, no longer communicating telepathically.

A blinding flash flooded the room for a second. The spear shattered; the arrow whizzed through the air, hitting E.T. in the stomach.