A drop of blood landed on Kaedeās face.
Since they were currently flying at a high speed, all the blood flying off of his body seemed like bright-red flower petals.
Kaede and Hisashi realized that they had overlooked something very important upon seeing this scene.
What theyād overlooked was just how large of a price Seiji would have to pay in order to help them!
He only mentioned that he would be able to help, but never said anything about what price he had to pay.
Nor did either of them think of asking.
Why had they overlooked such a thing? Being able to help for only āa maximum of one minuteā obviously meant there was more to it than seemed on the surface. They should have thought of it, and they should have asked moreā¦
Kaede felt a pain in her heart.
Hisashi blamed himself for not realizing.
They could only widen their eyes and watch as more and more blood began seeping out from Seijiās body, continually dripping downward.
Seijiās body gradually began to turn entirely crimson.
He felt tremendous pain all over his body as if something incredibly heavy was forcefully squeezing him. He felt like he was dissolving.
His consciousness became hazy as well.
His strength was reaching its limit.
āThis still isnāt enough yet, I want just a little moreā¦ just a little more timeā¦ā
This was the only chance he had to help the Juumonji siblings. He had to do his very best! He wanted to work his hardest to stretch his strength to the utmost limit!!
Seiji began roaring in a low voice.
After proceeding onward for a while longer, his body was no longer able to withstand the pressure. Cracks appeared all over his body that blood sprayed from in fountains.
What Kaede and Hisashi witnessed was that the entirely blood-red Seiji slowly began shattering to pieces.
āSeiji!!!ā they shouted loudly.
Seiji slowly turned to look at them with a faint smile on his bloody face.
āIāll beā¦ waiting forā¦ you in realityā¦ā
His body shattered entirely before his words even finished echoing.
āCough coughā¦ cough cough coughā¦ cough cough cough coughā¦ wowā¦ā
Back in the real world, Seiji was kneeling on the ground as his body trembled violently. He suffered from a vicious coughing fit that had him spitting up blood.
āYou went overboard.ā Yomi sighed.
Seiji was unable to speak for quite a while due to his continuing coughing fit. Only after he spat up some more blood did his body slowly stop trembling. He finally weakly breathed a sigh of relief.
āThat was so unpleasantā¦ā
āI already warned you, but you didnāt listen. How foolish.ā
āI didnāt think that it would feel so unpleasantā¦ I definitely wouldnāt have forced myself so much if I knew.ā Seiji wiped off the blood on his mouth.
Yomi didnāt know what to say at this.
She was highly suspicious of the veracity of his words just now, feeling like he would have done the exact same thing even if heād known that. She wanted to comment somehow but didnāt know what to say, so she decided to simply remain silent.
āI already did the best I couldā¦ I hope that they can succeed.ā
Seiji slowly stood up and looked at Kaede and Hisashi.
The siblings were still quietly lying there on the ground.
Seiji already did what he could. There was nothing more he could do apart from wait.
Earlier, during his coughing fit, there had been the sound of a system notification. Seiji thus decided to open up his system and check things out.
[You have been rewarded with 44 points and the item āHellās Curseā as a reward for traveling through hell and returning for the first time.]
[Mental suppression card āāHellās Curse.ā]
[This card contains the evil curse of the pitch-black abyss. You may use this card on any one person. That personās mental spirit will have a probability of instantly being destroyed.]
Seiji was rendered speechless.
Although the explanation itself was quite simple, it was easy to tell that this was a highly dangerous card.
Just what would a person whose mental spirit had been destroyed be likeā¦? He didnāt want to imagine.
The effect was highly dangerous. However, its actual usefulness seemed rather subtle since it didnāt appear to be a 100% effect. The systemās explanation merely said āa probability.ā
What exactly was that probability anyways? Was it a fixed probability? Or did it depend on the targetās mental condition or power level? And if he used this card in tandem with the [Mental suppression card ā Desire to Retort] that he received from his sister Hana, would that increase the [Hellās Curse] cardās success rate?
Seiji thought about it but decided not to think too much into it right now.
After he closed his system, he cast [Healing] upon himself.
A while later, he suddenly sensed something and turned to look at the Juumonji siblings again.
The siblings were glowing with a golden light!
āIt succeededā¦ā Seiji was quite delighted with this outcome.
Kaede and Hisashi had accomplished it! They returned!!
Seiji stopped healing himself and sent his Mana into the spell formations instead.
All the spell formations started glowing in unison and illuminated the three siblings.
The black spell formations on Kaede and Hisashiās bodies along with the black abnormalities on Zankitaās body all transformed into a mist that rapidly disappeared.
When the last of the black mist completely vanished, Seiji canceled the spell, causing all the spell formations to vanish.
Kaede was the first one to open her eyes.
She immediately sat up and looked towards Seiji.
āWelcome back.ā Seiji smiled at her.
Kaede crawled up and instantly jumped at him! She hugged him as tightly as she could.
āWhatās the matter?ā Seiji was somewhat mystified by her actions. āAre you alright?ā
Kaede didnāt say anything and only hugged him tightly.
Then, Hisashi woke up as well.
He also looked for Seiji the moment he opened his eyes. Hisashi sighed a breath of relief upon seeing that Seiji was still alright.
However, Hisashiās expression froze upon seeing the blood Seiji had spat out earlier on the ground.
āSeiji, how are you doing!?ā he shouted as he got up.
āAre you really fine?ā Hisashi pointed at the blood on the ground.
āI was slightly injured, but itās not a big deal.ā Seiji smiled.
āItās still not a big deal even though thereās so much blood on the ground?ā
Hisashi felt that Seiji was truly being ridiculous. However, he found it difficult to retort when faced with Seijiās current expression.
āMore than me, you should be more concerned about yourselvesā¦ how are you currently feeling? Does anything feel off?ā Seiji asked in concern.
Hisashi fell silent for a moment.
āIt feels like I had an incredibly long nightmareā¦ my memories are incredibly hazy, and I can only remember some scattered scenesā¦ apart from that, thereās nothing.ā
āThatās good, then.ā
This was an effect of the spell to help shield people from the influence of having visited hell itself. If it wasnāt for this mental suppression of their own memories, then the Juumonji siblings would definitely mentally collapse due to the tremendous pain theyād suffered while in hell.
However, even with a spell helping to maintain their minds, something still might have been left behind. After all, that was the scariest abyss of all, and its evil curse was impossible to completely block out.
āIf you ever feel that somethingās wrong with your body in the future due to this, let me know,ā Seiji told him.
Then, he looked towards Zankita.
āAlthough we successfully dragged this idiot back with us, butā¦ with the shape his body is currently in, can he still recover?ā
Seiji mentally asked this question to Yomi and received a response from her.
āHe should be able to wake up after resting for a long while. However, itās highly likely that he wonāt recover completely. There might be aftereffects.ā
āI seeā¦ā Hisashi adjusted his eyeglasses. āā¦I suppose heās lucky that heās even alive still.ā
āHeās not lucky at all. Youāre the ones who helped him to survive,ā Seiji told him sincerely. āYou and Kaede successfully saved him from the pits of hell. Thatās truly amazing.ā
Saving a family member from the depths of hell seemed like a legendary feat to him.
āYouāre the one whoās amazing. If it hadnāt been for you, we wouldnāt evenĀ have had the chance to save him.ā Hisashi smiled as he looked towards Seiji again. āIām truly grateful to you.ā
āI only acted as the support this time. The success depended largely on both your efforts.ā Seiji smiled in response as well. āAt this time, should I say something like āthe bonds of family have defeated hell?'ā
Hisashi was rendered speechless.
Things indeed sounded like how Seiji described it. However, Hisashi reflexively wanted to deny it as complex emotions welled up within him.
āI donāt like that line you came up with.ā
āHow about I change it to āthe ties of blood surpass even hell?'ā
āThat doesnāt sound good, either. Stop making lines up.ā
āThe two of you just accomplished something legendary. Donāt you want something cool to express it by?ā
āWe merely dragged our idiot older brother who did something incredibly foolish out of a terrible place. Thereās nothing else to say about it.ā Hisashi looked towards Zankita.
It was simply saving an idiot that he absolutely had to save. That was all.