LIGHTNOVELSTORY chapter 48
48. Tokiwa Nightingale’s Abilities
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“Haa… haa…”
Gasatt, gasatt, the sound of something moving through the trees like a wild animal, approaching me. I have to keep going, no matter what.
“W-why are you still chasing me?”
Out of breath, I stop to catch my breath and hide in the shadows of the trees. The green liquid in the chemical tank on my back sloshes around, and a wave of fatigue washes over my body.
Fighting off the dizziness, I take out my smartphone with trembling hands and send out a plea for help.
‘Sora-san’
‘Please help me’
‘Sora-san, please reply’
‘Please help me’
I send message after message, but they go unread.
“Th-that’s right, a phone call. A phone call too.”
But the notification sounds just keep ringing, and Sora-san doesn’t pick up.
“Why, why is this happening to me…”
It’s noon, and I should have been back at base by now. Instead, I’m dragging my bloody body around, running away from ‘that thing’.
“Sora-san, Doctor, even another hero at this point… Please, someone come help me.”
Ah, my vision is getting blurry again. My head is spinning. I’m losing too much blood. But I can’t collapse here. If I collapse now… I’ll be killed.
‘Help me. I’m going to be killed by Karasuba.’
This isn’t how it was supposed to be. Even if it was unusual for Karasuba-san, for me it was just one of many ordinary missions. Neutralizing pollutants was a request that was well-suited to my hero abilities, and I had been out on similar missions many times before as Philance Green.
This time, too, I had analyzed the chemicals right away, created a neutralizing agent, and sprayed it with the chemical sprayer, just like always. The only problem was that the chemical structure was more complex than usual, and a large amount had already seeped into the natural environment.
My hero weapon, the chemical emitter, first fills the tank with a special liquid using my ability. However, that alone is a harmless poison composition that is neither useless nor medicinal nor a weapon. It can do almost nothing.
The true value of my ability lies in adding a certain amount of my own blood to the liquid in the tank, which changes the liquid in the tank into a drug with the properties I desire. ‘Desire’ is really free, whether it’s a neutralizer that mixes with contaminants and cancels them out, a strong acid that can instantly corrode any metal, a colorless and transparent poison that can turn the whole body into a vegetable if you drink a few drops, or a specific antidote that completely neutralizes it. hero weapon, which at first glance seems too specialized and difficult to use, is a poison and medicine with infinite convenience in terms of ideas alone.
At first, I was surprised by the cost of consuming my own blood, but I can easily produce a drug that has the power to neutralize industrial-level toxicity with just 10 mL of 2.5 L of liquid in a full tank, so I can usually manage with the amount of consumption that a hospital would take. Thanks to the doctor’s consideration, I always have iron supplements and other things on hand, and if I pay attention to my diet, I never have any physical problems.
If I had to say one thing, it would be that if my missions are continuous, the injection marks will remain on my arm and I will look like a drug addict, but now I think it’s okay if I’m misunderstood because then Sora- san will worry about me. If I think of these scars as proof that I have worked hard as Philance Green to save the peace of the citizens and the nature that must be protected, they can also be considered a wonderful medal.
“—Well, the spraying in the forest is mostly done, but the problem is the river.”
To be honest, there are some things I have been careless about. I cannot deny that I thought this mission was nothing to worry about for my life as a hero, which had become routine. In addition, I was carried away by the joy of worrying about Kuwaba-san, who had envied and congratulated us as a couple, and my judgment was clouded.
“…Is the tank empty already? I have to make a new one.”
After reaching the middle reaches of the river, I concentrated on filling the chemical tank that had been used up for spraying in the forest while examining the water quality with the analyzer. At the same time, I made the decision to install a blood collection tube for blood donation, which I don’t usually use very often.
Blood collection is usually done with a syringe, but when a large amount is needed, a blood collection tube is used to connect the tube directly to the tank and continuously deliver blood. By simultaneously transfusing blood into the tank, filling the tank with liquid my ability, and releasing the chemicals in the tank with the emitter in my hand, I can adjust the contamination concentration more efficiently and without waste, although it puts a strain on my body.
Considering the chemicals that have seeped into the forest, the time it took us to get to the scene, and the fact that the rain is making the river flow faster, I judged that one or two blood collections would not be enough, so I inserted a thick blood collection needle into my left arm and set the tip into the tank.
“Let’s switch the emitter to straight mode. If Kuwaba-san comes to support us here, could you stop the upstream a little? Then it might be over a little sooner.”
As expected, the amount of contaminants that came out of the river water was a troublesome concentration, and I immediately started the detoxification mission. I was a little short of blood, so I put the supplements and candy that I always carry in my mouth, and all I had to do was pour the chemicals into the river, and the harmful substances in this river would be diluted.
That was the plan.