Tendou Kisara's instincts were right.
Up to this point, this world's fate was already sealed.
Suddenly, on top of the pedestrian overpass, a burst of frantic screams arose:
"Aaahhh!!!"
Everyone looked over to see that the two men who had just tormented the blind girl were inexplicably on fire.
"Aaahhh!!!"
They rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames, only to find that while their hair, skin, and clothes appeared to be ablaze, nothing was physically burned. Yet the gut-wrenching pain of being on fire was unmistakably real.
Onlookers were too startled by such a bizarre sight to approach, leaving the two men thrashing about. Before long, they stopped moving, their bodies no longer heaving for breath. Their eyes—bloodshot—were open in death. And as soon as they died, the flames vanished.
Stranger still, their bodies, completely unscathed by burn marks, began to crack. Then, smack—they fell to pieces, into blood, organs, eyeballs, spilling all over.
"Yaaahh!!!"
Someone screamed.
"Ugh!!!"
Someone else retched.
The scene plunged into chaos.
The cause of that invisible soul-burning fire was none other than Rei Ao himself, now standing before the blind girl.
"Your singing is lovely."
"Eh! Thank you for the compliment!"
Hearing the commotion but unaware of what had just happened, the girl blushed at the praise.
Enju Aihara glanced at the sign around her neck proclaiming her a Cursed Child and frowned.
"You can't see?"
The girl did not know who was speaking. Smiling as ever, she nodded. "Yes."
Tendou Kisara said, "Cursed Children have some Gastrea powers and high regenerative ability—normally they don't even get sick. How is it your eyes can't see?"
"Ah…"
The girl looked hesitant.
"Because…I'm a bit special."
"May I look at your eyes?"
Rei Ao's calm voice asked for the first time.
"Eh?"
"Relax. No one will overhear."
The girl's voice trembled, "B-but people might hear you–"
"Don't worry, they won't hear me."
Emilia and the others did not read too much into it. Blind eyes typically had no iris coloration, but rarely would they allow "hearing" a person like that.
"All right then…"
At Rei Ao's assurance, the girl exhaled. She reached up and carefully removed the cloth tied over her eyes.
Once the cloth came away—
"Tch! That's…!"
Emilia gasped, covering her mouth. The sight of those eyes made her unwilling to keep looking: her sockets held no eyeballs, only uneven, silvery-white matter inside.
"It's lead," Rei Ao said gravely.
"Mm, yes, I've had them filled with lead," the girl confirmed.
Understanding the plight of a fellow Cursed Child, both Tendou Kisara and Enju Aihara realized what had happened.
By pouring lead into her eyes, the regenerative ability was prevented from restoring them, so eventually they stayed ruined.
Emilia simply felt heartache and rage. Even she couldn't help wanting to chop those men who toyed with the girl into little pieces. She said solemnly, "Your eyes are far more beautiful than most of the so-called 'humans' in this place."
"I agree."
Rei Ao's voice was gentle and sincere. The girl stiffened; slowly, she lowered her hands.
"Me…beautiful?"
She had never imagined anyone would praise her eyes. People had always despised her, even her own mother. Yet here and now, she sensed no revulsion in their words.
"I didn't even know my eyes were beautiful."
"Who did it?" Enju Aihara asked angrily on behalf of her fellow Cursed Child. "Pouring lead into someone's eyes… How cruel can they be?"
But the girl quietly shook her head, smiling faintly. "No one else did it. I did it myself."
"…"
Everyone's breath caught.
"Wh-why would you do that?"
Enju blurted out in disbelief. Would someone really go so far as self-mutilation just to beg for money?
"Because my mother, who abandoned me and my little sister, hated my red eyes."
She spoke calmly, as if narrating a simple story.
"She always beats me for having those red irises…"
Her voice was peaceful, yet hearing it left the onlookers boiling with anger and pity.
In the chat group:
Stella: "I can't understand it. How could a mother abandon such a… such a considerate child?"
She couldn't think of a more fitting word. To pour lead into one's own eyes just because her mother hated them—this went beyond mere 'consideration.'
Miko Yotsuya: "I don't get it either, but it's heartbreaking."
Enju Aihara: "That's because she's a Cursed Child. Her mother belongs to the 'Stolen Generation.'"
This world's humanity was split into two generations: the Stolen Generation and the Pure Generation.
Pure Generation refers to humans (including Cursed Children) born after the Gastrea War.
Stolen Generation are those who personally experienced the horror of the Gastrea War, many having lost loved ones in the fighting.
Hatred of Gastrea extended to those touched by the Gastrea virus—namely, the Cursed Children. In a family of the Stolen Generation, a child was often abandoned or even brutally killed if infected.
Stella: "Ugh, this world is twisted to the core."
Frieren: "Now I really see why Rei Ao wants to cleanse it."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "It's possible that some truly hate the Gastrea virus, but many others do it just to bully or vent their malice on innocent children."
Megumi Kato: "Yes, like those two men earlier—this is their entertainment."
Miko Yotsuya: "They're disgusting!"
Miko Yotsuya: "Rei Ao-nii, please save them!"
Rei Ao: "That's the reason I'm here."
~~~
New Fanfic Available!
1.Journey to Godhood Begins in Frieren
2.Leading Hunter x Hunter to the Top of the Anime Multiverse
3.Judgment Descends Upon the Ninja World
Please Check it Out!
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 200+ Chapters Ahead of Others!