Discomfort is, in essence, a warning from instinct

* * *

"Gah... ha..."

Blood spilled from Emi's mouth.

Of course, the root of Kokoririon that had pierced her had opened a large hole and penetrated her abdomen.

She had been wounded so badly that it would not be strange for a normal person to die instantly.

And, furthermore.

"Gah!? Guh!? Ugh...!?"

From the root that was piercing Emi, even finer roots grew while writhing and squirming... and as they dug through her body... they began to absorb her magical power!

"GAAAAAAH!?"

Emi let out a scream of agony!

<<<Hahahahaha!! Does it hurt!? If you are to bear a grudge, then you should bear a grudge against the god who, as an apostle, has made your body so sturdy that you cannot die!!>>>

Kokoririon, seeing Emi's state, laughed joyfully while saying something completely off the mark.

◇　◇　◇

<Emi!! Emi... ah! Hold on, Emi!!>

At that time, Omake-sama... in the depths of Emi's heart... at the location of her soul, was gently soothing a tremendously large, dark black, and sticky sphere with her entire body.

The dark black sphere was, in essence, Emi's soul.

Emi's soul... trembled at the current situation where her body was being wounded and tormented by pain, and it squirmed as if writhing.

<Oh, oh... what a thing! For a mere conceited demigod, how insolent... don't come any closer, don't come any closer!!>

It was then.

Around Emi's soul... in the space filled with a pale blue light, rainbow-colored "roots" grew from all directions.

Of course, these were the extremities of Kokoririon, who had come to suck even Emi's soul dry.

Omake-sama immediately coated Emi's entire soul with blue light and began to fight to cut away the growing roots of Kokoririon.

However, it was one against many.

One of the roots that took advantage of Omake-sama's opening... pierced Emi's soul with great force!

It easily broke through the defensive membrane that Omake-sama had created, deeply entered Emi's dark black soul, and began to absorb her magical power.

<Stop!! Sto...!?>>

Omake-sama hurriedly jumped on that root, and put her strength into it to forcibly tear it away from Emi's soul... but, however.

She immediately let go of the root.

Why?

The answer is simple... because a clear abnormality had occurred in the root that had pierced Emi's soul.

That which had been shining rainbow-colored... the moment it began to absorb Emi's magical power... began to change color to a dark black.

The other roots were the same.

The roots of Kokoririon that had pushed aside Omake-sama's resistance and achieved their purpose, all of them... were dyed a dark black and began to emit a putrid smell.

And.

In the blink of an eye, they rotted away, and turned into black dust, and disappeared.

<...I see, this is!!>

Omake-sama, after seeing that, immediately synchronized with Emi's vision and checked the state of the outside world.

◇　◇　◇

Then, a scene similar to what Omake-sama had seen around the soul was spreading there.

The rainbow-colored roots that had pierced Emi and tormented her were completely dyed a dark black, and were rotting and crumbling away.

The roots that had restrained her were the same.

"Guh, ugh..."

Emi, having lost her support, fell to the ground with a thud and groaned in pain, but she quickly got back up, even though she was staggering.

Around the large hole in her abdomen, her flesh squirmed while emitting white smoke—jukujuku, juujuu—and in the blink of an eye, restored her lost body.

...It doesn't really look like a human body, but that's beside the point.

<Emi, can you hear me?>

"Omake-sama... what in the world is this...?"

<It may be unpleasant, but please remember. When your soul was exposed at the auction house by the gods of this world... what kind of reaction did they have?>

"............"

What kind of reaction?

Emi recalled that scene with anger.

The gods, without confirming her will, had discarded Emi, a soul harvested from another world, into the void.

Saying things like "dirty"... and "smelly".

There was even a god who was throwing up.

She remembers it well.

Because that was the beginning of her life as Emi Rune.

Although it's an unpleasant memory, she didn't cover it up... and she's actually told Omake-sama about it several times.

<This is not to demean you at all, but as a fact... I didn't know either, but... in other words, your soul, and the magical power that is generated from it, is... for those gods... poison.>

"Poison...!"

The words conveyed by Omake-sama at this very moment became a ray of light for Emi.

◇　◇　◇

<<<Hey, what is this!? What have you done to me!?>>>

And here, Kokoririon finally noticed that his extremities had rotted away and shrieked.

Being dull to pain and his giant body being a hindrance, he seems to be unable to grasp the details of his own body.

"............"

Emi, while rubbing her still-aching, freshly-healed abdomen, glared at Kokoririon's arrogantly distorted face... and deployed countless tentacles from her entire body.

The figure of a girl, at least beautiful in appearance, disappeared, and what was there was a monster with a mass of tentacles squirming around while spewing out dark black miasma from its entire body.

<<<Hah!! You've become quite a hideous figure, befitting your soul!! Is that your true nature!!>>>

Kokoririon, while mocking such an Emi, fired a branch spear at the monster of tentacles.

DOZUN!!

However, that branch spear, while making a heavy impact sound and gouging the ground, did not hit the monster of tentacles.

Because the monster, while extending its tentacles and piercing them into the ground here and there, had begun to eerily... but quickly and smoothly, crawl around and run away.

<<<How impudent!! And how gruesome...!!>>>

DOZUN, DOZUN, DOZUN!!

Kokoririon clicked his tongue, irritated by his own branch spears that wouldn't hit.

A grotesque and gruesome-looking monster is crawling around him while scattering miasma!

To put it mildly, it was a nightmarish scene, and Kokoririon's mood was greatly soured.

Even though he has become one with a plant, he even feels nauseous!

<<<Then, how about this!!>>>

A branch spear won't do!

Kokoririon, having judged so, shook his trunk greatly and dropped a large amount of spirit tree nut bombs!

DODODODODODODODODON!!!

A carpet bombing with no room to escape simultaneously attacked the vicinity, and a tremendous explosion illuminated the surrounding area!

However...!

When the smoke from the explosion was cleared by the wind, what appeared was a black cocoon.

What a thing, the monster of tentacles... had clung to Kokoririon's trunk at the moment of the explosion, and by creating a cocoon-like armor there, it had weathered the bombing!

And on top of that!

<<<What!? What are you doing!?>>>

Kokoririon, with the part where the black cocoon was stuck as the starting point... sensed an abnormality.

Clearly... magical power is being absorbed!

And at a tremendous rate!

<<<Y-You're disgusting!! Get off!!>>>

Kokoririon hurriedly extended a branch from that part and blew away the cocoon.

The black cocoon that was blown away, while spinning in the air, eventually changed its form back into a mass of tentacles, landed, and once again began to crawl around Kokoririon.

<<<OH... OEEEEH...!!>>>

Was it because its annoyance and hideousness gave Kokoririon's spirit a tremendous sense of disgust and irritation... Kokoririon vomited amber-colored sap from the mouth of the face that had appeared on the lump, as if it were vomit.

<<<T-Truly... a disgusting, lower creature...!!>>>

Kokoririon, while feeling dizzy and nauseous, was about to extend a branch spear to crush the monster of tentacles this time, and... he suddenly noticed.

...From his own bark... the rainbow-colored brilliance is gone, and it's starting to change color to a dark black!?

<<<What!? What is this!?>>>

And it's not just a matter of appearance!

His extremities, which have already completely changed color to a dark black, are rotting and beginning to crumble.

On top of that, he can't move his body well.

The branches that he could extend like limbs are not growing as he wishes!

"Scattered it... my magical power."

The reply to Kokoririon's question was... uttered from his base.

Looking, there was Emi Rune.

Having released her monster-of-tentacles form, she was there in the form of a real girl.

"Pierced my 【Black Tentacles】 into the ground... and poured my magical power into it. All over the place. Then, human-faced tree, you... you'd suck it up, wouldn't you? My magical power..."

While saying such things, Emi created a single, thick tentacle... and thrust it into Kokoririon's weakened trunk.

ZUUN!!

The tentacle pierced deeply, deeply into Kokoririon, and began to suck up something... magical power, with great force.

<<<Wait, wait... scattered magical power!? Why did that... become like this...!?>>>

Kokoririon, while his consciousness was hazy, glared at Emi.

But, however.

He immediately opened his eyes wide.

Because!

<<<Hey... hey, you...!!>>>

At that time, Emi was already holding a huge, dark black... "weapon-like thing" that Kokoririon did not know.

It seems that it was probably made by Emi weaving her tentacles, like the dark black axe from before, and is composed of a box-shaped part that seems to be packed with something, and a wide oval-shaped blade-like part extending from it.

However, the problem is that Kokoririon has no idea what that "weapon-like thing" is!

Kokoririon was originally a long-lived Spirit King.

His knowledge was deep, and he had the pride of knowing most things about this world.

And yet, that he, does not know this "weapon-like thing"...

The unknown easily turned into fear, and Kokoririon screamed!

<<<WHAT IS THAT!?>>>

Emi glanced up at Kokoririon's face, and then immediately lowered her gaze.

What she is looking at is the cut that she had made on the trunk earlier with her 【Black Great Axe】.

Emi placed the blade part of the "weapon-like thing" in her hand on the cut... and then, shouted back!

"【BLACK GREAT CHAINSAW】!!!"

And, the next moment!

Suddenly, the blade of Emi's 【Black Great Chainsaw】 began to operate at super-high speed!

JYUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!!!

While making such a shrill sound... Kokoririon's trunk, which had changed color and lost its hardness!

It began to cut it!

What in the world is Emi's soul, which is a poison to the gods?

And what in the world is Omake-sama, who can be with such an Emi?

It will not be revealed yet.