The Third Strain:

“And what's left as an excuse not to care, are those we really don't want to hurt...”

The Guinaian is a city that was designed by the government specifically to be suitable for students to live while studying on each their own campus. A vast plain, cities and streets forming a magnificent giant ring on the surface of the local map.

Where a large forest that surrounds the city which also surrounds another much smaller forest, has a city park right in the middle. Which is filled with many entertainment media such as merry-go-round and one huge Ferris wheel with the highest tip of it that can be seen from a distance.

“Let's go there someday!” excitedly, Fanya watched that thing spinning from the window of the bus we were currently riding in.

“Well, lately the city has been a bit more crowded again. Maybe soon we will actually be able to go there? Right, Deo?”

“Huh? Ah, yes… Sure…” He answered my greeting as if he was thinking about something else. We went around the city for two hours already and the rest we shopped with Fanya, but this man's soul just floats in every second of it.

I wanted to ask him if he was okay, but I've asked the same question for five times before… He's just always silent.

“Have you set up your cell phone yet, our dearest dumb dumb? Why so long just only for doing that!? Hurry... Okay, whatever. Give me your phone!” Fanya was impatient with me who was still reading the terms and conditions. So she pulled out my new cellphone, then raided my contacts with only her number.

“Done… Look! We’re home. Ah… I’m so hungry... Let’s get off this bus and eat something first before entering the boarding house.” She threw my new phone away like it's not worth much anymore, but I caught it easily while in the mid-air reflexively.

I wasn’t impressed at all by something that should rarely happen like that just now... So I just got up from the bus seat. “ You heard that girl? Let’s go, Deo.”

The warm moment of eating simple dinner on the side of the road has become what I've been waiting for a long time even since I was just a child. But a beautiful night must soon be replaced by another morning for each day… I’m ready, and that’s why I called Ellie before then.

~~~~~

“Ellie? It’s me… Yes, in this empty alley. As usual.” Not even a second after I said that full sentence via phone call, she suddenly appeared in front of me… While wearing only a thin shirt and shorts, as if she had just gone to bed.

“Uh…” And it wasn't even a second before I complained, again she just disappeared right from my sight. Oh? She turns off her phone... Is she mad? Does that mean she won't come anymore to pick me up?

“I’m here…” the girl reappears wearing a black hoodie that reaches down to her thighs, holding her knees with a gasp.

“You… Okay?”

“Doing three teleports in such a short time really does take a lot of my energy…”

“Wow... Your face is so pale... Or... Red? Are you okay?! Yo, Calm down! I'll find something for you to sit down in a minute. Wait here!” I ran away and reappeared with some kind of soda crate, put it behind this girl, then told her to sit down.

“I never thought that the teleportation power could drain that much energy.”

“Uh… Yes…” Ellie laughs admitting reality.

“But I do understand your power is really very useful… And it feels pretty cheesy… In a positive way, I mean. I think the reason why the amount of energy needed to be that big, actually just what the other gods wanted to make it equal to their own authorities. Domineering desires are the things that create the absolute rules of their own world... That's why some minority gods have to have their powers weakened... Even suffer…”

“How do you know all of those things?”

“From the memory of the goddess inside me.”

“I see… But don't you remember what just happened? Like... A few seconds before that?”

“What just… Happened? Didn't you hear me explaining about it earlier? About your exhausting teleportation?”

“Right… So you DON’T remember the other one, huh? I dunno why, somehow I felt relieved… But very upset and disappointed at the same time.”

“Oh... So it’s actually about your nightgown? I swear to god, you looked really super cute with that stuff... But don't you feel cold while wearing it to bed?” Hm… Maybe I shouldn't have said that...

“So you do remember! That’s it! Just forget all about it!” Ellie yells at me... Stood up, then pulled my shirt-sleeve, teleported right in front of my dorm door.

“Bye!” She ran away, disappeared suddenly like the spooky appearance of a ghost.

And with nothing else for me to do in this place, I casually walked into the room.

~~~~~

Relax while muttering hymns before bed…

“Nothing bad happened today... Or yesterday.” I praise myself for that.

Even though I can enjoy every second, but it still hurts in my heart when I think about someone… “Elis…”

“Yes?”

Yo, What the fuck!? Elis?

“Yo…”

Where the hell have you been!? Why did you leave me!? Don’t you dare to “Yo…” me! Stop being so casual about this, you little shit...

“What is wrong with you?! Anyway... How long have I been unconscious?”

Four days, bitch!

“That long?!”

I thought you'd never come back again!

“Sorry… And thanks, Daniel. I'm glad to realize that you are actually worried about me.”

Then explain!

“Oh... You're right! About that! So… Listen to me. Remember when I said that I would find a way for us so the next day you wake up, you will no longer feel exhausted all day long? I actually just tried to get away from this physical body, with the conclusion that you can use this soul for yourself for a while. But at the exact same moment it turns out... I lost consciousness instead. And when I wake up, it's already four days in the real world. End of the story…”

Yeah, okay... Whatever… Just don’t do that again!

Though I think you already know, but let me turn this straight to you…

When I'm too tired of… Literally anything, sometimes my nature will turn into something that is not liked by everyone. I often talk nonsense, don't care about anyone and even act completely like a brat. So if you know I'm in such a time, please don't ever listen to what I will say to you. Whatever it is, just never!

When I say something really, really rude, even something very inhuman, it's only temporary, and I'm going to regret it so much when I come back to my senses, but just let it be! I beg you don't ever disappear again like that…

I also can't get rid of this bad character of mine, so just please…

“I know…”

No, you don’t!

“I knew all the things about you, and I had absolutely no intention of leaving. At the time, I was just trying something that now I just realized it is actually quite dangerous, so... I apologize for that…”

How dangerous is it, by the way?

“Uh… There is a high possibility that I will completely disappear and not return for centuries or even forever. But look! Apparently there are still miracles in this world! Yet, I'll never do that again... You just calm down here, okay?”

Fuck you.

She then appeared in her adult version right in front of my eyes, laughing warmly while apologizing. “And thank you for caring about me that is not even real to anyone... I'm so happy, you know?”

“As long as you understand about it…”

~~~~~

Falling asleep and waking up, I did something quite different for today.

“So this is your plan to expand your energy capacity?” The imaginary girl floated following me from the side. Early morning with the freezing air on the lonely road around the forest, I run every day until I get as close to my own limit as possible.

“Maybe the doubling ratio of the soul power that I have is actually not comparable to this dead weak body alone… And maybe this ratio configuration itself can actually work just fine with the soul and body of an ordinary carrier, but... Unfortunately, we’ve died once... And the laws of the world will never be on our side no matter what. So I think this method is reasonable to try… What do you think, Elis?”

“Hm… Okay I admit my defeat for that.”

“But we're not competing at all, you kiddo…”

“By the way… You're starting to see the contents of my memory, aren't you?”

“Quite… A lot.” Admitting that, I think this girl is right because I made that analysis by directly sourcing the memories that Elis had of the same thing.

All the time in the early morning I use every second of it to practice expanding my own stamina bar... Day and night I learn the modern way of fighting, and before going to sleep I take the time to visit Deo and Fanya.

Two weeks passed. This week should be the last for our training requirements… But our entire schedule was changed all of a sudden.

“During the whole week, you guys will practice sparring in groups… Six on six! It's an Inter-squad battle experiment!” That cool nickname, which was just called by the coach, was greeted by people's burning enthusiasm. Everyone shouted excitedly…

Then I noticed...

Again... After he finished speaking, the old man looked me right in the eye. What's this guy's problem with me really?!

~~~~~

We all walked towards the auditorium, right beside the practice hall.

A room filled with spectator seats and a giant, thick glass window showing all sides of another one smaller room that's in front of it. A concrete enclosure with one side made out of glass, exactly like the ones you usually find in zoos or operating rooms but with far more space for spectators.

“Find your seats just like we usually line up every morning, where I'll explain the rules of the game from down there.” The coach walked with his finger pointing right in front of the giant window. From there, he talks a lot while his back is to us.

“One fight has two rounds and your team will take turns playing as criminals in one round, capturers in another. The winning point of this fight is... You must successfully attach these fake six power-reducing bracelets to all criminal members, or manage to hit the heads and chests of members of the capturer team using your respective practice swords.” He also added...

Criminals who have worn the bracelet are also not allowed to participate in the fight. because that's the original use of that thing when we go on missions.

So with that, the training began which even in the first round had opened our eyes to how difficult the work we had received really was.

Those capturers fought quite agilely and coordinated... As if the training they had received during these two months had indeed greatly affected how they fought and chose what decisions are most beneficial in each situation. But still…

There have been six fights, twelve rounds, never once have they won against criminals who are free to attack them with that murderous intent... All the teams that have fought, won as criminals but lost as capturers.

“Now all of you understand how difficult this job is, right? For a whole week you'll be practicing like this... I don't want to see any more criminals win on the last day of training, the day before your inauguration. You hear me?! Now the next team, get in the arena!” The team that the coach was referring to was us.

~~~~~

“Take it easy Daniel... We can do this.” Frans came patting me on the shoulder, when everyone nodded in agreement.

Six on six… I have a little memory of the battle that Elis has. At least that's the least I can read for now from the thousands of years this girl has lived.

So yes, maybe we could actually give a different result…

“Wait! Exceptionally for this team, one of you great carriers, please move to another team and replace them with one of their other members... But with one additional rule, both of you can use your own power.” By that order, everyone in the audience rumbled as if smoldering with fire.

“Do not worry... You won't be able to destroy anything in this room that was created by the power of the great carrier of the Earth, so... You don't have to hold back.”

“Not about this room, but please care about our own lives!” I'm asking more and more worried.

“Evelina is a great carrier who can heal, in case you didn’t know it yet... Okay, no more questions! Choose who you want to exchange, then immediately take a position so I can start this battle.” From beside, right behind the big glass, the old man is sitting casually waiting for us to do something.

“Rock paper scissors!” Ellie shouted from behind, and what a fool I was, this hand reflexively agreed to play... And I lost.

“Okay, that means you move to the enemy team.”

“But you just used a surprise attack, you cheater! My brain is still not ready yet!”

“rock-paper-scissors doesn't need brains, you fool. It's all about luck! Now, move!”

I walked slowly across the super-enclosed room apart from a single piece of glass on one side, passed a substitute whose expression showed displeasure at having been sent off by his own team.

Impossible... I won't be able to win this game. I don't want to feel the pain of that counter-curse anymore... Let alone just for a trivial exercise like the current one.

Like hell no, I better give up now and let Ellie win the match.

“Okay, everyone’s ready? Three, two, one, start the fight!” All the horrible cheers from the crowd then started our very first fight.

~~~~~