Reincarnated in a Shounen Manga

Chapter 235: Dancing With Lady Death

My shoulder blade shattered, and my internal organs were destroyed. No matter how much power and strength I used, it was impossible to heal now.

Yep, I'm gonna die.

I had been expecting this to happen sooner or later. However despite anticipating it all this time, it was kind of overwhelming.

I didn't want to die.

There were so many regrets I hadn't settled. Heck, I hadn't even had time to come to grips with all those people I had killed during the royal rumble.

What about Wisteria? Without my protection, she was in a lot of trouble. The people in this world were cruel enough to kill her and do many other horrible things. Hoping for her peaceful death was just a dream.

I had prepared some things for her, just in case. But only time would tell if people would even listen to my wishes after I was gone.

Everything had been moving so fast in the past two years. I rarely had any time to rest. In many ways, I had wasted my life thinking about others and never fully enjoying the present moment.

I should have set some time aside and hung out with Carpy. I don't think we ever did that.

It was kind of useless to realize these things now.

Damn, I wanted to cry!

Looking around, I saw the terrified expression on Anika's face and many others. Sei, Agon, and even Zumi looked shocked too. The Kuro Clan Head and the Strength Exorcist didn't seem too worried; their gazes were filled with thoughts about what to do next.

Gem, on the other hand, was pale and had a terrified look on his face. Seeing his second friend die would no doubt affect him a lot.

No, I couldn't cry now! I had to fake it, make it seem like I had no regrets in life.

I mustered a smile and weakly raised my hands to give them all a thumbs up as my body plummeted to the ground.

Was this what Bets felt when he was dying? Putting on a mask and giving a thumbs up so the rest of us wouldn't despair.

At least Carpy hadn't taken the brunt of that damage. One of us dying was better than two. We had already separated, but Perenelle had moved so fast that our bodies hadn't even separated yet. Though I was the only one taking the damage here.

Looking at the blue sky, it was a beautiful, bright, sunny day, and some birds were flying nearby.

What an underwhelming death. I didn't even die sacrificing my life for anyone. Indeed, a side-character death.

The sky gradually grew darker, and Carpy's large body came out of me. He looked down at me, his serpentine eyes filled with so many emotions. I gave him one last thumbs up and smiled.

I was sure that eventually, he would become a dragon. It seemed like I shouldn't have worried too much about the time limit of the contract.

Well, since I was dying anyway, one last gamble should be worth it. Not like it mattered if I broke the contract now. Though maybe if there was an afterlife, I would suffer torture or something like that because of it.

Meh, who cared about shit like that now!

{Perfect Me: Final Order}

'My Perfect Me, I have one last order for you. Take my lifespan, memories, soul, and essence. Give everything to Carpy!'

The act of breaking the contract felt like my soul being mercilessly torn apart, akin to sharp needles piercing out of my eyes.

Thankfully, immobilized by the excruciating pain, I spared the others from witnessing my agony.

Time seemed to slip away so quickly, leaving me with a trail of regrets. I pondered on how I could have made different choices, perhaps acted with greater wisdom.

A single, seemingly insignificant mistake had led me to this dire situation.

Carpy, embrace the dragon you were destined to become. Take control of your own destiny, and break free from the confines of a pre-written manga about someone else.

As I left these messages with Carpy, darkness enveloped me. Embracing the embrace of death felt like descending into a profound slumber...

***

Perenelle breathed a sigh of relief as she witnessed Kon's scroll above his head turn red and then disintegrate into ashes. The youngster was finally dead, and she felt a sense of relief knowing that no one else here could counter her power.

"Well, with that done, I can now take care of you other bugs," Pernelle stated nonchalantly. Trying to put the fear of God in these humans.

Yet, Zumi charged at her with a jab, but Perenelle swiftly activated her special ability, enhancing her speed and allowing her to jump back, avoiding the attack.

However, something strange occurred as Kon's life ended with a smile on his face. A gigantic, serpentine, dragon-like demon emerged from him, exuding menace, momentarily troubling Perenelle. Yet, upon observing the fate above the demon's head, her worry subsided.

[Carpy, Just a Carp]

As Kon's corpse started withering, the air grew still. The corpse rose up like a marionette and touched the massive serpentine demon it had merged with.

Then the unexpected happenedthe tag above Carpy's head changed. At first, it seemed like a corrupted file, displaying bizarre numbers as though it couldn't decide what it should be. However, when it finally settled down, Perenelle froze in fear, her heart climbing up her throat.

"No, impossible!" she exclaimed.

"I will take my master's name," the demon declared in a growling voice, strangely calm yet weeping at the same time. "His name will never be forgotten, till the end of time. I will break the world to carve his name in it!"

[Kon, Dragon King of Broken Fate, Breaker of Worlds]

It was a self-fulfilling prophecya situation in which someone tries to avoid a fate they knew of, but that very action leads to fulfilling it.

Perenelle realized that what she had seen before wasn't the youngster's tag; it was that of his fused demon!

'The creature changed its name! I can't let him evolve!' panicked Perenelle.

Before she could make a move toward Carpy, the space around her twisted, and black threads ensnared her. The source of this phenomenon was a silver-haired girl, weeping while holding Kon's withered body, which bore no resemblance to its former self. He was now nothing more than a decaying corpse, devoid of anything that made him human. Yet, the young girl clung to him with a melancholic fervor.

{Black Widow of Despair}

Black threads, weaving through space itself, wrapped around Anika, as if fashioning a beautiful dress for a grieving wife.

Perenelle struggled to move, but her limbs were entangled by the strands, gripping onto space itself!

'I can't escape! Another counter to my powers!'

Panicking, Perenelle realized she had a way to break freeshe only needed to wait a bit and charge up her Time Skip Ability, which would allow her to skip the current action and reach the result she desired. However, the challenge was to prevent them from killing her during that charging time.

Then, an idea dawned on her. Talking about their dying teammate might just do the trick!

"Heh, did you-"

But before she could utter a word, she felt something grip her throat tightly, emanating a foul aura.

It was someone whose fate was dismissal at best.

[Agon, The One Who Was Chosen]

Perenelle had never encountered such a title before. Chosen one? she wondered. It could be something as simple as being the favored disciple of a particular master.

However, she soon realized that she had been overly reliant on her special abilities as she sensed the foul Ord emanating from the young boy in front of her. Instantly, Anger surged within Perenelle.

Her husband's killer stood right in front of her!

Despite having lived for thousands of years and her husband having passed away centuries ago, she kept her anger in check and even managed to smile. "Yamata No Orochi. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The same demon whose poison was used to kill the Strongest Human, The Son of God. How did you end up sealed in some prepubescent boy?"

In response, all she got was an angry growl. The man's hand that had grabbed her throat oozed with poison, which then entered her body.

Most other ultimate class creatures would have perished from this deadly poison, but Perenelle had long prepared for this particular demon, the one who had killed her beloved husband.

She activated the stone in her chest, a marble of Ord created by her husband. It was the Stone of Samsara, the true peak of a Creator Affinity and the most potent magical item known. It reminded her that she and her husband would always be connected.

The poison coursed through her body and escaped from her fingertip, thanks to the stone's countermeasure.

Despite her millennia of life, Perenelle couldn't help but mock her husband's killer. "Is that all you got? It seems like the rumors about Yamata No Orochi were oversold. You aren't even that special; most demons in the outside world would tear you apart."

Suddenly, the skin on the left side of Agon's neck bubbled up, and a snake burst forth, biting Perenelle on the shoulder. The pain was excruciating, feeling like lava running through her brain.

The snake retreated back into Agon's neck, and the skin regenerated. Perenelle feared that Yamata No Orochi had used his strongest poison on her, but she realized she hadn't died within seconds, making it unlikely.

Perhaps his abilities were sealed or required specific conditions to be met, she speculated.

Despite her hatred, Perenelle shifted her focus to the one creature causing her immense unease - Kon's tamed demon. It curled around itself and diminished in size, making her aware that time was running out.

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