Chapter 95

The Bad Ending list has the power to summon objects or parts of the body that Erica possessed in her worst possible endings.

In the bl**d-red World that was summoned this time, Erica utilized a rarely-used power called bl**d Erosion, rather than her usual Protection. This particular ending pushed that power to its limits.

Even Erica herself seldom, or perhaps never, used this kind of power.

That’s why the side effects Erica had to endure were significant.

“Hot.”

Erica refrained from flapping her dress to cool herself down as her body felt unbearably hot. More specifically, every time she converted other substances into bl**d, her insides grew increasingly fiery.

Her whole body felt as if it had suffered third-degree burns, and her right hand, which had endured the most severe injuries and used bl**d Erosion extensively, had entirely lost sensation.

Had the opponent not fled to the vessel above, Erica would have been hopping around in pain, trying to alleviate her suffering, to the point that she might have gone berserk. — Perhaps she would faint once the battle was over.

“…Do you understand?”

The plan to drop the vessel using bl**d Chains failed.

Not that it was impossible, but her body wouldn’t have been able to withstand it. Even if she managed to complete the action, it was likely that she wouldn’t survive the aftermath. Therefore, the Student Council President canceled the plan and moved on to explain the next strategy, confirming that Erica understood the plan.

“Yeah, my power has a force that attracts bl**d, so we’ll attract the bl**d of the people on that vessel and pull it down to the ground, right?”

While her thoughts remained preoccupied, Erica was listening intently.

Erica, who was rather proud of her ability to multitask, initially wore a confident smile, but upon noticing the President’s awkward expression, she immediately dropped it.

Realizing that her response had been incorrect — that she hadn’t listened properly — thanks to the Student Council President’s facial expression.

“More precisely, the idea is to use that force to ascend. Even at a glance, it seems difficult to drop the vessel, and even if it were possible, it would drain your power severely, wouldn’t it? Right?”

The notion that her power could attract bl**d wasn’t something Erica had explained. The President had deduced it through keen observation.

Even with a system that provided information, the President, armed with considerable wisdom, surpassed the system in explaining Erica’s capabilities — a peculiar contradiction.

It wasn’t clear whether this was because she wasn’t the protagonist or because the world she had immersed herself into was not an RPG but a romantic visual novel.

Regardless of the reason, one fact was undeniable: The Student Council President’s observation skills were impressive. Nodding briefly in acknowledgment, Erica asked another question.

“Wouldn’t it be too dangerous to climb aboard, especially if the enemies there would prevent any chance of escape?”

“Normally, yes. But if you can handle bl**d, wouldn’t it be possible to incapacitate opponents from a distance? You could knock people out as soon as you ascend, right?”

Manipulating bl**d essentially means manipulating the body. Whether by inducing brain hemorrhages or precisely managing symptoms of hypertension or hypotension, incapacitating people was not a difficult feat.

Though Erica understood this only now after the President’s explanation, she shook her head immediately.

“I can’t be that delicate with this power. They might d*e if I attempt it.”

No one had died yet, and the damage inflicted wasn’t massive. While Erica’s right hand ached, and the Vice President was injured, feelings of guilt or anger remained minimal. She didn’t harbor deep emotions that would lead her to incapacitate or potentially k*ll everyone aboard the vessel.

The injuries to the right hand were due to the terrorists, not those on the ship, and the Vice President had never been an especially close acquaintance.

“…We don’t have time for this debate.”

With that remark, Erica looked up in the direction the Vice President pointed, only to be startled by the sight of round objects falling like shooting stars. Though no cannon fire was heard, it felt as if shells were descending.

Perplexed momentarily, Erica prepared to convert the falling objects into bl**d instead of panicking further.

– Why am I enduring this?

Voices of resentment and hatred echoed in Erica’s mind as she prepared to use her ability. These likely stemmed not from her usual perspective, but from her future self in a Bad Ending.

Erica didn’t dwell deeply on how mere possibilities could harbor feelings of resentment. She knew she wouldn’t face that kind of future. If she ever stumbled upon a humiliating ending in this romantic visual novel, she was prepared to take her life before reaching it.

In that sense, the Erica of that Bad Ending wasn’t truly herself; just a possibility she might have become.

Once Erica resolved to think this way, she refrained from pondering frivolous matters, like why she could transform most objects into bl**d simply by thinking about it, even though this was her first time wielding this power.

As Erica acted on the impulse to convert the descending objects into bl**d, there was a loud explosion, and numerous iron shards rained down from what she had thought were shells.

Though she had managed to turn them all into bl**d, these “shells” were not singular units. They were a collection of at least ten objects, making the count of the iron shards soar into the thousands.

“What…!?”

Just as Erica and the President had held strategy meetings about how to counter the enemy, the enemies too had likely discussed how to bypass Erica’s abilities.

If everything were converted into bl**d, their attacks would be ineffective. But they hadn’t intended to turn everyone into bl**d. The enemies had deduced that once she initiated her ability, she could consciously decide how much to convert — hence the decision to send projectiles capable of killing anyone who remained unconverted, with time delays meant to overload her abilities.

Unlike the Busan Girl who could cancel abilities instantly, the attack sent with the intention to eradicate those below forced Erica to convert the iron shards until, after managing over a hundred, she began coughing up bl**d and stopped.

Even Erica’s willpower, which usually allowed her to suppress pain during battles, couldn’t overcome the physical symptoms of coughing up bl**d caused by excessive fatigue from overusing her abilities.

As the bl**d and iron shards cascaded down like rain, the President tried to guide them towards remnants of a building that could offer protection. The Vice President, who had risen using a bat as a cane, tried to move Erica to where the President indicated when a strange incident occurred.

Suddenly, some of the falling bl**d rose up and burst near the iron shards, immediately rendering them useless.

Though this wasn’t an intentional act of Erica’s while she was in a state of losing control over her abilities, it was her body’s reflexive action.

Summoning from the [bl**d-red World where the Smiling One Exists] wasn’t simply about converting everything into bl**d. Precisely, it was about bringing over the perfected state of her body from that possible world, adjusted by the rate of erosion.

Once Erica temporarily lost control of her abilities, the bl**d, no longer under her command, rose and exploded around her reflexively. In this world, all bl**d existed for her sake — an entirely possible phenomenon.

“Huh.”

Erica, after hearing the explosion and looking up, became puzzled by the reduced number of descending iron shards.

The bl**d she had vomited stained the bottom part of her white dress, turning it crimson. All around her, everything had turned red. The woman gazed at the highest bl**d droplet among those falling.

“I don’t know. But I’ll go check. …I don’t care if they live or d*e.”

Whether she could carry the weight of taking someone’s life or not was unclear to Erica, but for now, she felt indifferent about it.

If any creature that had eroded her by 10% or more deserved to d*e, she whispered that she shouldn’t feel guilty — they had it coming.

Before getting any farewells from those below, Erica appeared at the location of the bl**d droplet she had been observing, floating downward.

Although the distance to the Sky Ship was still far, Erica closed her eyes and extended her hand again, just as she did when converting objects into bl**d. She moved toward the presence of bl**d, as if drawn by its magnetic pull.

Once more, she attempted to replicate the sensation of being attracted to where the people were on the Sky Ship using whatever residual feeling she had left.

“Success!”

“Ah!”

With the feeling of success came immense pain across her face and torso. The idea of using the ship’s bl**d supply’s gravitational pull worked, and it pulled her body directly into the vessel’s keel. Naturally, it caused severe pain.

Erica plunged her arms into the ship to prevent herself from falling. The numbness in her right hand from all the pain saved her from additional discomfort.

In this state, climbing the vessel directly rather than expending her power again was the most prudent option.

[3 minutes and 38 seconds]

…Though remaining time was an important consideration.

Without the protagonist’s arrival, the main heroine who once could have been the protagonist ventured up to meet the main heroine of the Busan side — the final boss in the current event.

As the events reached their climax,

Tick.

Erica felt as if the ticking of a clock’s hands reached her ears.