Chapter 62

Leave this to me and go ahead!

(Sorry for being really late. Been having internet issues. Will try to make up when that's resolved. Also, exams start in 5 hours, so wish me luck)

It’s the occurrence of an incident-like event.

An area with a radius of about 5 km centered around the Western-style town of Heit was covered in a dome of fog that formed a distinct circle.

It was clearly not a naturally occurring phenomenon.

"Hmm, it’s pretty hard. Is this a barrier... or perhaps a prison?"

Noticing something unusual from the oasis, En and I rushed to the site, only for out visit to be refused.

The pitch-black fog that looked gaseous had turned into an enclosing wall that prevented anyone from entering.

I lightly knocked on it with the back of my hand, and received a satisfying knock knock. It was a pretty powerful barrier.

I tried using clairvoyance and search, but the inside was pitch black and I couldn’t see anything. Hmm?

I tried using Teleportation, since I don't know what the destination is like, I can’t even activate it. Hmm…

Punch, kick. Punch, kick. Ora! No use. It’s too hard. A blow or two wouldn’t make a dent. Hm…

"Are you mad?"

"I’m not mad, okay? Just testing it out."

I didn’t get suddenly angry or anything, okay? If I were, it’d be a big deal.

I just got a little annoyed that two of my abilities got nullified by some fog I don’t even understand. That’s all. So, En, please don’t look at me with those strained eyes.

Hmm... But this hardness isn’t normal.

I can sense an intense presence of the Abyss from within, and I can feel the power of the Abyss within the fog itself. Following Adyeshach, maybe it’s here again this time.

“I wonder… if this is the doing of the Qlippoth of the abyss.”

“What…?”

I’m a cheat original protagonist so a barrier that can repel two of the abilities could only be the Qlippoth’s doing.

No matter how you look at it, it looks way too sinister for it to be the power of an archangel. The fact that Kabbalah-chan has her fur bristling with displeasure at the sight of it is proof enough.

I don’t know if this is truly the Qlippoth of the abyss, but there’s no doubt that an equally powerful Abyss is involved.

“What’s happening to the townspeople…?”

“I know you worried, but you mustn’t get impatient, En. Tsubasa is there, and the others are as well.”

“Yeah, but with this…”

“I know. We'll figure this out."

Besides the sensation of the Abyss, I can also feel the sensations of Tsubasa, Chouta, Mea-chan, and Zaphkiel-san within the fog. As long as those kids are there, there’s no need to worry about anything happening anytime soon.

But that doesn’t mean we can just to stand and watch.

Because that would mean the original protagonist won’t get their highlight scene.

And of course, En needs his highlight scene too.

With Tsubasa currently in the spotlight, En has to act with a heavy impact here, or he’ll end up being harshly name-called a “protagonist (lol).”

In any era, readers have strict eyes for protagonists. Nowadays, when weaker otakus have increased, even a small shitty move by the protagonist can quickly lead to a scandal, and that’s pretty difficult.

Also, I personally like En, so I want him to move vigorously. That’s why…

──Can you keep up?

“Of course.

Then that's good!

No, even if it’s no good, I’ll forcefully bring him along anyway. That said, it’s a relief that he isn’t the kind to stay discouraged forever just from being rejected once.

Well then, let’s give this a shot, shall we?

"Come forth, my other half."

With those words, I summoned the same old familiar Phantom Thief Notebook. In a cheat original protagonist sense, it’s truly my other half, so calling it that is actually correct.

It’s been a while since I used force*. Somehow, it feels like my notebook is glowing more cheerfully than usual... or so I imagine. (tl note: as in using physical force in order to achieve a certain goal without relying on negotiation)

Holding the Phantom Thief Notebook in my right hand, I layered the powers of "Curse of Darkness," "Telekinesis," and the Chesed Power before activating them. Oh, speaking of which, Chesed-kun’s terminal, the Merciful Phoenix, is also in the fog. I wonder if I can use it... Yep, I can. Good.

Having done that, as usual, ten black and white wings unfolded on my back.

When I did so, I didn’t forget to stealthily return my cape to my Item Box in advance so it wouldn’t get in the way of my wings.

As for why the wings are necessary... it’s because they allow me to exert more power.

Of course, the main reason is that it looks cool, but you could call this winged form Eight-chan’s Fighter Mode.

Let’s see... naming if after the goddess-like person—

"Phantom Thief T.P. Eight Olishua-sama’s ‘Charon Form,’ I suppose."

Adjusting my silk hat over my eyes, I proclaimed this in a theatrical tone.

Yes, from now on, this form shall be called "Charon Form." It’s a great name, isn’t it? It’s stylish and shows devotion to Charon-sama, so it’s killing two birds with one stone. I can already picture her being pleased with this.

"Charon Form... I thought of it when I saw it on the last island, but it’s flashier than Mea’s."

"Didn’t you know? Daring phantom thieves love flashy things."

"I see... So giving it a grandiose name was part of that?"

"That’s part of it. Well, giving something a name also refines its power, you know? You guys give your special moves cool names too, right?"

"True enough."

Yup, it's so helpful to have a boy who understands romance.

Yes, even in terms of the nature of supernatural abilities, giving them names makes it easier to solidify the necessary image when activating them, so there’s practically no loss in doing so.

──Now, setting that aside, let’s talk about this dark fog.

This prison of fog has sealed in the Western-style town of Heit and confined comrades like Tsubasa and the rest of the Savers. Unless we destroy it, we can’t move forward.

It’s quite the annoying obstacle. However, an original protagonist being here spells the end of its luck.

Floating lightly with ten wings, I raised my left hand and used my “power.”

“Purification!”

For some reason, it had an obviously unclean vibe to it, so I judged that my “Purification” supernatural ability could handle it this time as well.

This ability seems to particularly have a good affinity with the Chesed power that I stolen from Mare-chan, and a mystical, dazzling light spread out, neutralizing the darkness.

Fuhaha, I’ll use my original protagonist power to shake off this dark fog. Now that I’ve received power from my niece, nothing can stop me!

...Ah, sorry, this is a bit impossible.

My purification did blow away the fog in front of me.

However, the fog’s regenerative ability far exceeded my expectations. When I relaxed a little, the damaged parts were quickly filled in by other ones.

While it’s undoubtedly effective, erasing it entirely would take at least an hour at minimum.

This is... as persistent as Adyeshach's poison. It might seriously be the Qlippoth of the abyss.

If that’s the case, just the fighting force inside might be a little unreliable. If there’s an enemy on the level of Adyeshach in there, how far can Chouta, Tsubasa, and Zaphkiel-san handle it…? Mea-chan is there too, but she hasn’t regained the power I stole from her yet, so she can’t really be counted on as a fighting force. And Merciful Chesed-kun goes without saying.

──So, that being the case,

“En!”

“?”

Here it comes… a chance to shout the ranked 2 line from my “Lines I’ve always wanted to say at least once in my life” series!

I called out to En, who was about to attack the fog in Fairy Burst State, and declared loudly,

"I'll clear the fog. But clearing it all will take too much time. So… you go ahead! Leave this to me and go ahead!"

“...!?”

Leave this to me and go ahead──if you're a boy, you'd want to say this line at least once. I’m a TS original protagonist, though.

It’s a line that’s been overused countless times in creative works, but that’s exactly why it has charm and is really good. It’s the perfect line for someone like me who loves templates.

Hearing those words, there’s no way Akatsuki En, the protagonist, wouldn’t feel fired up.

When I nodded with a smug expression, as if to comfortably send him off, he returned the nod with a fiery sense of responsibility in his eyes.

And then, I used my “Purification” ability once more.

This time, at full power. I’ll carve out the path for him with everything I’ve got!

“Goooo!”

As a cool original protagonist, I don't usually shout much, but it's fine to show my passionate side when it really matters.

Those kinds of cunning characters are still popular for some reason. Just like the protagonist of the original story... Hmm? Did my character just overlap with En?

No, that can’t be. I’m a beautiful girl, so there’s no way I could overlap with a womanizer like him in the first place.

“Thanks! I’m heading out!”

Yeah, hurry up and go already.

En made eye contact with me and dashed straight down the open path. Only the sparks scattered by the flapping of his bright red wings were left behind. I sent his gallant back off with a gaze of affection.

“I leave Tsubasa and the townsfolk to you...”

Ah, but make sure to leave me my show-off scene, okay!?

Ideally, I’d swoop in just when they’re struggling, and play the role of the Late Hero Eight-chan.

Letting him go ahead was partly because I wanted to try saying the rank 2 line from my “Things I’ve always wanted to say” series, but there was also this original protagonist calculation involved. The rankings change based on my mood. By the way, currently, rank 1 is, “The entire Earth will be erased!*” I got to say it during a school play in my previous life, which was very satisfying. I doubt I’ll get the chance to say it in this life, but I think it would feel incredibly good to shout it out with everything I have. (tl note: not sure of the exact wording, but it’s supposed to be cell’s line in dragon ball)

No, Earth-san, I love you, okay?

──Now then, back to serious business. Not that I’m not always serious.

Actually, when I used Search on the fog, I discovered that it contained a nasty poison.

It’s not as fast-acting as Adyeshach’s corrosive poison, but it’s the malignant kind that creeps up on you without realizing it and plays with you bit-by-bit.

Naturally, being trapped in this fog for an extended period would spell doom for anyone inside.

There will be no immediate problems, but symptoms are bound to show up in a few hours.

The troublesome thing about this type of poison is that it takes a long time to notice. Since I have the supernatural ability, “Search,” I noticed it instantly, but there’s a real danger it could be too late by the time the symptoms appear.

This dark fog is a mix of a sturdy prison and a dormant poison──if left unchecked, it’ll wipe out the town’s sacred beasts and also endanger the Savers.

Why didn’t I tell En about it?

Because there was no need. After all, I’m going to clear out this fog myself.

The perfect cheat original protagonist, you see… has the duty to set the conditions so that the characters of the original work can fight comfortably.

The frustrating development where even though you win in terms of real ability, you fall into a disadvantage because of some dirty trap... doesn't that make you want to turn the tables? If you're an original protagonist, that is.

I don’t know how things play out in the anime Fairy Savers ∞, but this is the enemy who created this kind of roundabout fog. They must have an incredibly nasty personality. Crushing such a nasty villain head-on and defeating them cleanly is the joy of cheat original protagonist fanfiction!

"Before the poison spreads to everyone, I need to take care of this."

Damn it! Because they made something like this, I can't intervene until I remove everything!

Ah, geez, if only there was someone else who could purify the poison! I’m not asking for much, but if there was just one other person with the same purifying ability as me, we could purify all the poison in under an hour!

Just kidding.

Fufufu… this kind of sarcastic abusive language is pretty original protagonist-like, isn’t it?

This too is, in a sense that it’s a job that only I can do, a truly worthwhile move. (tl note: japanese slang for a standard set of moves.)

Even though it’s plain.

It’s a pretty straightforward task. I just scatter light from the sky and purify. It’s not particularly exciting.

Even so, if I don’t do it, En and the others will end up packed inside, so I have no choice but to get on with it.

Honestly, the fact that Adyeshach was hiding in Mea-chan’s body makes me think the scriptwriter of Fairy Savers ∞ might be a pretty nasty guy.

It’s fine because I’m here in this world, but I wonder what happened to this fog in the original? Is there even anyone who could do something about this?

『I’ll lend a hand, Daat.』

…There is. Thank you, Binah-sama!

“This is reassuring... Did Kabbalah-chan call you?”

“Kyuu!”

Come to think of it, this one has been observing us through Kabbalah-chan’s eyes.

As expected, when they’re on our side, they become incredibly reliable... I’m talking about the Ten Archangels of Sefirot!

Oh, but is this okay? When I looked at her face just now, I couldn’t help but question if she had a change of heart or something.

“Are you sure? To reveal your true face under this blue sky?”

『...It’s fine. No matter how hard I try, I can’t become the real thing. I’ve realized that... I’m just me.』

“I see.”

Right now, Binah-sama was not lowering the veil from the tiara on her head.

Under the blue sky, she was confidently exposing her face, which looked exactly like mine.

From what I heard, she always disguised herself as someone else, rarely ever revealing her true face... So does this mean she’s stopped doing that?

I heard the reason she hid her face was because of an order from Keter, but she chose to ignore it. What──great judgement!

“I’m glad! I like your true face, so it makes me really happy.”

『R-really? ...Hehe.』

Cute.

Well, of course, she has the same face as me, so that’s only natural. But combined with the blue sky, Binah-sama’s smiling face was incredibly beautiful.

She’s probably super popular in the anime too. It’s such a shame I couldn’t see her activities in two dimensions.

──But more than that, I’m truly enjoying this world where I can interact with all of you in real life!

A shower of holy purification, created by the combined powers of Binah-sama and me illuminated the dark fog shrouding the area around Heit.

True to the reputation as the Sefirot who holds power on the same level as Chokmah, her strength was tremendous.

Purifying all the fog, which I thought would take more than an hour on my own──was completely dealt with in just 30 minutes with her help.

It was so quick that halfway through, I started thinking, “Ah, this is one of those not-so-desirable developments where I regroup with En and the others.” Well, lives were on the line, so I couldn’t slow down the purification process.

But how did this move look to the inhabitants of Heit? Let’s itemize it:

All of a sudden, a dark fog engulfs the town!

The sky becomes no longer visible, and an invisible poison and the Abyss attack the townsfolk, leaving them helpless!

With no hope of rescue from outside, the only ones they can rely on are their chief angel and the human warriors!

──And in that moment, two beautiful girls descend from the sky, driving away the darkness with dazzling light! They are Olishua!

We won! I may have missed the perfect timing to rush over to En and the others, but this was still a really cool original protagonist move.

Oh, I’ve immediately spotted the inhabitants looking up at us from the town. Make way, make way, for Binah-sama and the original protagonist to pass through!

...Wait, why is everyone, even the grown-ups, sobbing…? How scary...

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