Campione: Strongest# 449: The ‘Captured’ Outer God

Beep.

The ECG monitor issued soft, rhythmic confirmations of the patient's normal heartbeat.

This was a hospital ICU room. The small space, less than forty square meters, was packed tight with people.

Shiki’s biological mother, the butler Akita, and even the now-married Ryougi Kaname and Asagami Masako stood by the bedside, their faces grim. With the exception of the busy head of the family, virtually the entire Ryougi clan was squeezed into the small room.

The most numerous occupants, of course, were the doctors and nurses attending to Shiki.

At the moment, Shiki’s mother—a woman in a kimono with her hair neatly pinned up—stood by the bed, anxiously questioning the doctor.

“Doctor, what is my daughter’s condition? Exactly what part of her is injured?”

“Ma’am, please calm down!” The plump doctor in the white coat looked helplessly at the frantic Ryougi matriarch.

“Mother, please let the doctor focus on her diagnosis first,” Asagami Masako said with a strained smile, trying to comfort the anxious woman.

Ryougi Kaname, unable to get near the doctor, walked over to Haru, who was sitting by the bedside, and asked seriously, “Mr. Haru, what exactly happened to Shiki?”

Over the past two years, Haru had fully integrated into the Ryougi family. In Kaname’s view, Haru was the current head of the Asagami family and Shiki’s boyfriend.

That was why no one found it strange that Haru was sitting by her side—it would have been strange if he wasn’t there after Shiki was hospitalized without explanation.

“To put it in terms you can understand, she was likely afflicted by a sort of toxin,” Haru said, his tone slightly odd as he held Shiki’s hand, gently massaging her pale, smooth skin.

In the previous confrontation, the Origin known as ‘Pursuit of Death’ and Shiki’s connection to the Root had a peculiar chemical reaction. According to Nyarlathotep, it seemed to be a beneficial mutation, potentially leading to the awakening of a Death-type innate ability.

All Haru heard was that she was about to awaken the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

‘This is the Root Shiki we're talking about... She used a Dead Apostle's hand to secure the buggy ability that was supposed to require sacrificing SHIKI, and the only price was a minor cut less than three millimeters deep.’

“A toxin? Will it cause any permanent harm?” Kaname’s face went pale, and he asked in a low voice. As a member of a demon-slaying family, even a non-magical one, Kaname knew enough about Magecraft to understand its toxins were not to be trifled with.

“It's nothing. It’s actually going to give her a little benefit. She should be fine after a month of sleep,” Haru said, giving the overly dramatic Kaname a flat glance.

“That’s good. That’s a relief. I'll go explain it to Mother right now.” Kaname patted his frantically beating heart and sighed deeply.

Haru watched him walk toward his mother with narrowed, deadpan eyes, wearing the expression of someone watching a disaster unfold.

Sure enough, within ten seconds, the middle-aged woman’s scolding rang out repeatedly. The entire room seemed to shake, knocking dust from the ceiling.

“That’s a mother’s prerogative, I suppose. Even if she knows everything is fine, she still needs to come when her child is injured,” Haru said with a shrug, looking helplessly at the matriarch screaming at Kaname.

‘Hmm, this is what they call great maternal love? Hehe, what a fascinating thing,’ the silver-haired Outer God chuckled wickedly.

‘Whoa!’ Nyarlathotep suddenly cried out in surprise.

“What’s wrong?” Haru asked, puzzled.

‘I’ve found something interesting. I’ll be right back.’ With that, Nyarlathotep instantly left his mind and drifted away, passing through the hospital walls like a ghost.

Haru looked suspiciously at her retreating figure, then turned his attention to the Ryougi matriarch, who was now walking toward him, seeking reassurance.

'Forget the Outer God—I need to appease the mother-in-law first. But I absolutely refuse to be adopted into the family.'

—————

In a patient room on the same floor as Shiki.

Nyarlathotep looked with curiosity at the struggling figure on the bed inside the room marked with the name "Kokutou."

Mikiya Kokutou was biting the sheets, his brow deeply furrowed. His hands gripped the bed railing tightly, veins bulging on his arms, a picture of unbearable agony.

“Wow, he was injected with Deep One blood, yet he can maintain his human appearance? This guy is surprisingly interesting!”

Nyarlathotep stared wide-eyed at Mikiya with the fascination one might reserve for a giant panda. Through her unique sight, she could see dark-blue alien blood constantly being injected into his body from the wound on his right arm.

It seemed that when Ryuunosuke Uryuu—who had just butchered a Deep One—attacked Mikiya yesterday, the uncleaned short knife had pierced his body.

“One Deep One’s blood isn’t enough. Let me spice things up a bit,” the silver-haired Outer God chuckled mischievously, pulling out a pile of unknown fluids and injecting them one by one into Mikiya.

The long, silver cowlick on her head twitched, morphing into the shapes of various monsters, indicating her elevated state of excitement. In stark contrast, Mikiya's expression grew increasingly terrifying and agonizing.

“Hehe, ha ha ha!” The Outer God’s eerie laughter echoed through the room.

Just then, the room door suddenly opened.

A girl in a sailor uniform, holding a bouquet of flowers and with a troubled look on her face, stepped inside.

“Brother, I’ve come to see you.”

The mischievous Outer God froze instantly, her face going pale with alarm, like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Plop—

The crimson flowers in the young woman’s hands fluttered to the ground.

Her sky-blue eyes were fixed intently on the silver-haired girl before her.