23: Road To Became Shanks

The Gotou that the three of them were facing was weaker than the one who appeared at the end of the series. He was still adjusting to his new body and learning how to fight and use his abilities as effectively as possible.

Furthermore, what made him monstrously stronger than other parasites was the fact that he was composed of five parasites. However, this was also his greatest weakness.

When Natsuo's fireball struck him directly and burned his body, the other four dormant parasites were awakened. Their survival instincts caused them to rebel against Gotou's control, effectively making him lose complete control over his own body.

His thoughts became chaotic, and he could no longer properly coordinate his movements. He began attacking wildly and randomly, with no clear target or strategy.

At first, Natsuo had been somewhat nervous when facing Gotou, but as he watched him fight, he gradually relaxed and gained confidence. Gotou wasn't nearly as terrifying as he had initially thought. Especially after Natsuo managed to hit him with a fireball, it seemed like the fight was already a checkmate for Gotou.

However, everything changed when Chelsea actually turned her back on Gotou. Natsuo hadn't expected her to lower her guard against him like this!

The sight of Gotou's tentacle slashing toward Chelsea's frail body frightened him. Before he could even think, his body moved on its own. He pushed her away with all his strength, and the tentacle slashed through the spot where she had been standing a moment earlier.

Unfortunately for Natsuo, the hand he had used to push Chelsea away was caught by the attack and severed cleanly at the wrist.

"Shit, it hurts!" Natsuo felt a burning pain in his wrist. He gritted his teeth and endured the pain as he conjured another fireball and shot it at the bastard while retreating.

"Die! Die! Die! Goddamn it! Die!"

BOOM! BOOM!

As soon as the fireball hit him, Natsuo shot another one. Tongues of flame exploded around the already burned Gotou, engulfing him completely and turning him into a human torch.

"Natsuo!" Chelsea cried in panic and rushed toward him. She caught him in her arms and looked tearfully at his severed hand.

"Your hand... It's because of me!"

"I am fine. Let's finish him off first before we talk." Natsuo forced a smile. He tried using healing magic, but his elementary healing magic could only treat minor injuries, much less reconnect a severed limb.

"Hmm, I'll kill him. Just wait here, Natsuo." Chelsea nodded and rushed forward. She pulled two guns from her waist belt and fired repeatedly, emptying both magazines. Every bullet found its mark, striking Gotou in the head or neck. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her expression was frighteningly cold.

When the bullets ran out, she tossed the guns aside and grabbed her needles, throwing them at him one after another. Gotou thrashed and attacked wildly and chaotically, his body smashing into the walls and slamming into a dumpster as he instinctively tried to escape the death closing in on him.

Eventually, he collapsed. His once solid body began to deteriorate, transforming into a burned, fleshy mess.

"We need to take you to see a doctor! Maybe they can reattach it!" As soon as she finished him off, she ran back to Natsuo and saw him holding his severed hand. He had cast his last remaining spell to freeze it and preserve it.

"No, let's just go back. I want to sleep. I'm tired." Natsuo shook his head and walked unsteadily, so Chelsea hurried to support him, letting him lean against her.

Shinichi followed silently behind them. When he saw Natsuo's severed hand, he glanced at his own. For a moment, he wondered if perhaps he was the same as Natsuo.

"Let's separate here, Shinichi-san. Thank you for your help until now." When the three of them returned to the car, Natsuo said his farewell to Shinichi. Then he added, "By the way, tell your parents not to travel these days. It's dangerous."

"I will." Shinichi nodded. He looked at Natsuo's pale face and severed arm before asking, "Will your hand be alright?"

"Yeah, I have my ways. I'm a mage, after all. Take care." Natsuo smiled confidently before telling Chelsea to start the car.

Chelsea silently started the engine, and soon, they drove away, disappearing from Shinichi's view.

He closed his eyes, resting his head against the car seat. His arm hurt like a bitch, but the pain was surprisingly manageable. He was almost surprised that he hadn't cried like a bitch. More than anything, he was still in shock over losing his hand.

He wondered how the others would react when they saw him like this, but he remained optimistic. 'The shop should have something that can fix it.'

"I'm sorry. It's my fault... I... I should've done better." Chelsea's voice sounded low and shaky. It had been completely her mistake. She had been so focused on protecting Natsuo that she made a rookie mistake by neglecting her target.

She had nearly died and, even worse, caused Natsuo to lose his hand!

She prided herself on being a professional assassin and had long since stopped making such low level mistakes. To think that she would make one now...

'Barbara always said that I should work on my physical abilities.'

Back then, she had thought she didn't need to train her abilities anymore, but the feeling of helplessness she had experienced earlier made her reevaluate all her beliefs.

"I told you, it's not your fault. Everything will turn out alright." Natsuo opened his eyes and said with a smile.

...

"Natsuo! What happened to you?!"

When they returned, Kana happened to be in the living room. The moment she saw Chelsea helping Natsuo inside and noticed the blood, she exclaimed in panic. When she looked closer and realized that his hand was missing, her face turned deathly pale.

"Your hand! Your hand!!"

"I lost my hand, haha. I only need to dye my hair red now." Natsuo gave her a smirk.

"You..." Kana staggered forward slowly, her legs wobbling as the shock weakened her knees. She finally collapsed onto her knees, staring at him in disbelief.

"Natsuo-chan, what happened to you?!" At that moment, Hilda came running when she heard the commotion. The moment she saw Natsuo's condition, her eyes widened in fright before she fainted and collapsed onto the floor.

"Mom!" Natsuo was startled and hurried over to check on her. He calmed down when he realized that she had only fainted.

"Chelsea, please lend her a hand. As you can see, I can't." He raised his remaining hand and gave her a weary smile.

Then he slowly walked into the kitchen, opened the freezer, and casually tossed his severed hand inside. He had little hope that surgery could successfully reattach it, and even if it could, he doubted it would ever function as well as before. It was more realistic to wait until he finished the quest and see if he could buy something from the Shop that could restore it.

'Who knows? Maybe I'll return in perfect health when the quest ends.'

Natsuo tried to maintain an optimistic mindset. It was the only thing keeping him from becoming depressed. He was tired, extremely tired. Perhaps it was because he had used up 99% of his mana, combined with the exhaustion from the intense fight. Right now, all he wanted to do was sleep.

So he went to his room and collapsed onto his bed without bothering to change his clothes or take a bath. Fortunately, his healing magic had at least closed the wound on his arm for now.

...

"He lost his hand because he saved your life?!"

After the two of them put Hilda in her bed, they sat beside her while Chelsea told Kana what had happened.

Although Chelsea felt extremely guilty and saddened by what had happened, she was someone who had witnessed her close friends and allies being massacred many times. Her mental fortitude was still strong, and she had plenty of experience under her belt.

'I'll help him get his hand reattached no matter what!' Chelsea vowed silently.

"Why did he refuse to go to the hospital? There is still hope they could reattach his hand! Is he stupid?" Kana wasn't nearly as calm as Chelsea. She shouted in panic, and if Chelsea hadn't stopped her, she would have already gone to Natsuo and dragged him to the hospital herself.

"He didn't want to. Natsuo was adamant about not going." Chelsea shook her head helplessly. She had tried to take him to the hospital earlier, but he had firmly refused, insisting that he would find a way.

"That's... stupid..." Kana muttered.

Ever since this mission had started, they had never suffered a loss or encountered any truly serious difficulties. To her, the mission had felt as though they were simply clearing a list of objectives. This was the first time someone had returned from one of their missions seriously injured.

And it was Natsuo, of all people!

Her vision became blurry as tears welled up in her eyes. If things had gone even a little worse, he could have died alongside Chelsea. Just imagining a world where she could no longer argue with him, play pranks on him, or watch reels together with him made her heart tighten painfully.

"N-Natsuo! Where is he? Where is my son?!" Hilda's eyes fluttered open. She looked around frantically, but Natsuo was nowhere to be seen. She hurriedly climbed out of bed and shouted hysterically as she rushed toward his room.

"He is asleep. Don't wake him up." Chelsea grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"What happened to my son? It's you! It's your fault! You promised to protect him!" Hilda stopped, but only for a moment. The next instant, she directed her anger toward Chelsea, shoving her away and roaring at her.

When they had planned to leave tonight, Chelsea had promised with her life that she wouldn't allow anything to happen to Natsuo. Otherwise, Hilda never would have allowed him to go. Her worries had turned out to be justified. He had been injured, and his hand was gone.

He wouldn't even be able to beat his meat with his favorite hand anymore!

"Yes, it's my fault." Chelsea didn't resist and allowed Hilda to push her away.

"Mom."

At that moment, Natsuo walked out of his room. He had only just fallen asleep when Hilda's loud voice woke him up.

"Natsuo-chan!"

As soon as he appeared, Hilda rushed over to him. She wanted to reach out and touch his arm, but she was afraid that she might hurt him.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not anymore. I'm scared. Will you sleep with me?" Natsuo asked with a pitiful look.

"Of course!" Hilda nodded vigorously.

He took her to his room, but before leaving, he turned around and gave Chelsea an apologetic smile, which only made her feel even more guilty.

"Are you really not in pain?" Hilda helped Natsuo into bed before sitting on a chair beside him. She held his intact hand and asked with a worried expression.

She really, really loved Natsuo. He was her son now, and as a mother, especially a son-con of a mother, she loved him even more. Seeing her perfect son's body missing a hand pained her deeply.

"No, I already healed the wound. It doesn't hurt anymore." Natsuo shook his head calmly before saying, "Don't be sad. I'm actually very happy right now. I only lost a hand, but I survived and saved Chelsea's life as well."

"Really?" Hilda asked.

"Yes. It's all a matter of perspective."

...

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