Volume 10 Chapter 20 Hygieia
Toxy's plan is this.
First, Toxy and Sandra will split up and take separate actions.
Sandra, who's always in the toxic mist, isn't suited for it, but she has mobility and can temporarily clear the mist, making her perfect for a surprise attack.
Meanwhile, the main force will be led by Toxy, who will charge straight into the toxic mist. If the illusions can be recognized for what they are, the situation won't be a problem.
In dire situations, a punch from Hydra would be just what Toxy needs to regain her composure.
"Alright, let's go. I'm going...!"
Toxy takes a deep breath and starts walking. The toxic mist's unpleasant air envelops Toxy.
Then, Toxy walks in silence. Occasionally, Hydra asks, 'Hey, little girl, you okay?' and Toxy responds, "I'm fine, Hydra."
The visibility inside the mist is even worse than before. If it weren't for the occasional "Zap!" sound of Sandra's electricity, she'd definitely be lost.
Suddenly, a creepy atmosphere sets in. "Hydra!" Toxy calls out, but there's no response. The illusions have started. Toxy pauses for a moment, then says, "Hit me!"
The impact and pain. Toxy's vision blurs. But when Toxy sees Hydra's figure, he feels relieved. 'You okay, little girl?' Hydra asks, and Toxy responds, "Thanks, the illusion's gone," and continues on.
The illusions are affecting not just sight, but hearing as well. This mist is the worst. All incoming information is being rewritten.
Believing the illusions can leave her crippled at the very least, or even drive her to suicide. Toxy's avoiding damage like that. What kind of poison is this, anyway?
As Toxy walks a bit further, the poison accumulates, and Toxy sees another illusion.
'Toxy, it's your fault. Because of you, I...'
'You're the one who made me, your Father, drink that weird stuff, and died, Toxy!'
"...Even knowing it's an illusion, it's still annoying."
Toxy's expression is stern. Grinding their teeth, Toxy presses on.
It's all over. There's no way to change it. The dead won't come back to life. That's just how it is, since they're already in the Underworld, the realm of the gods, as a demon.
"...I wonder if I can meet my father again. But, he doesn't has any memories left, does he? ...Forget it. It's no use thinking about it."
Toxy thought that she would never see her father again. Even if they did meet, she wouldn't know what to say.
Toxy had already been saved. Wade had saved her, first by giving her money and then by resolving the root of the problem.
And when Toxy saw Wade struggling to make amends with his father, she felt saved once again.
Her father would definitely be proud of her, seeing how hard Wade was working for her. That's what Toxy believed.
"Don't remind me of unnecessary things. Don't make me remember, Hygieia."
Toxy said, taking a few steps forward. She closed her eyes tightly, clenched her cheeks a few times, and then opened them again.
In front of her was a massive crater filled with muddy sludge. Hygieia and the demons had melted together, creating a strange, muddy mess. It had dissolved the ground of the slum and was now sinking into the crater.
Even though Toxy had come this close, she didn't sense any movement. The muddy sludge in front of her was still just muddy sludge, and she didn't feel any signs of life.
Hydra said, 'I can blast it with Dragon's Breath. The part that gets hit will definitely disappear,' but Toxy shook her head.
Toxy called out loudly.
"Hygieia! I've got your father, Asclepius, right here! If you're a god, you should be able to sense that! If you don't want him to be killed, show yourself now and surrender!"
But the muddy sludge in front of her didn't react to Toxy's demand. Toxy furrowed her brow.
"Is that okay? Your father is still suffering, isn't he? And yet, you're not moving at all. Do you think that's acceptable?"
But the muddy sludge still didn't move. Did it have a will of its own, or was it just sleeping? Toxy didn't know.
If it wasn't going to respond to her demand, then there was no choice.
"Hydra, spit it out."
'Uh-huh.'
Hydra spat out Asclepius, who was still trying to resist the Nergal's poison using his powers.
But as soon as he took a breath in the poisonous fog, his condition changed. His groans grew louder, and he coughed up blood.
'Hy, Hygie, Ea...?'
Asclepius's voice was like a question, and the muddy water rippled. It didn't move greatly, but...
It reacted.
Hygieia definitely reacted.
Toxy let out words with a fierce determination.
"Hygieia, is this okay? Are you making your father suffer with your poisonous mist? At least stop the mist, or else..."
Toxy laughed.
"Will your poison kill your father?"
Those words clearly caused the muddy water to ripple. In the crater, waves swirled to the right and left.
Hydra said,
'You little girl, it seems Hygieia is bouncing back at you.'
"Huh? What's going on all of a sudden?―――!"
Toxy felt the poisonous mist growing thicker. She quickly covered her mouth, but she had already inhaled the thickened mist.
Her vision distorted. In front of her, her parents' faces appeared, filled with resentment as they glared at Toxy.
'It's your fault...' It's your fault...' 'If only you hadn't done that, Father wouldn't be suffering...'
"Shut up, shut up, shut up! Hygieia! This is pointless! You're just making your father suffer! Isn't that right?"
The poisonous mist grew even thicker. Her parents' faces multiplied, all of them blaming Toxy.
"Toxy, you... what did you do?' 'If only you hadn't been born, Father wouldn't be...' 'Goodbye, Toxy...' 'Did you see Father's face?"
The voices echoed in her mind. Even though she knew they weren't real, her head felt like it was going to split from the pain. Every time she heard the voices, her guilt and desire to die resurfaced.
But she couldn't die now.
Toxy was going to become a monster that killed (made happy) the people she loved.
"Hydra!"
He punched. Toxy fell to the ground, but her vision returned to normal.
Asclepius was writhing in agony, groaning, 'Stop... please save your father, Hygieia...'
Toxy grasped the black death sword Nergal, one of the Cursed Thirteen Blades of Victory, which was stuck in Asclepius's body. Then, she began to rip Asclepius's body apart like a whirlpool.
'Giiiiiiiiii... Hygieia... Hygie, Eia...'
Asclepius was calling out his daughter's name without understanding anything, as the poisonous fog grew thicker. How far would Hygieia go, looking like that filthy mud?
Toxy screamed.
"It's only now! Only now that he's alive, you can stop this! If you regret it later, it'll be too late! You can't be kind during this rebellious phase! You won't be able to forgive yourself if you don't take a stand. You'll regret everything later!"
Toxy was in a rebellious phase back then. She had seen her father, who was affected by the poisonous magic, with a mixture of contempt and pity.
―――It's fine, isn't it, even with poisonous magic? Father is just being dramatic. Let's use the tainted magic too. I'll secretly teach you how to make it useful.
With that thought, Toxy had mixed a stimulating drug produced by poisonous magic into a drink and given it to her father, who was going wild. If he drank it alone, it would only clear his mind a little.
But Toxy didn't know back then. The drink and the drug, when taken together, would have a synergistic effect. Both the effects and side effects would become much stronger.
And so, her father had hanged herself. That scene was revived in front of Toxy's eyes.
But it's already over.
Toxy's body had created an antibody against the poisonous fog. Even without being beaten by Hydra, the hallucinations would disappear.
And so, Toxy looked down at Asclepius. Asclepius was weak and struggling, but eventually stopped moving.
Asclepius, Hygieia's father, had died from Hygieia's poison.
His body was invaded by the poisonous fog, and his form changed into filthy mud. The sound of Nergal falling echoed.
Following gravity, Asclepius's filthy mud fell into the crater.
As Toxy watched, she said,
"Ah, I told you so."
Asclepius's filthy mud mixed with Hygieia's. The mud jumped, trembled, swirled, and began to rage like a stormy sea.
"Hygieia, how do you feel? You didn't obey me, and this is what happened. No, it's not just that you didn't obey. You tried to kill me, but in the end, you killed your own father."
Toxy's words enraged the filthy mud. The poisonous fog grew even thicker, becoming so heavy that it felt like it was suffocating.
'You can't fly like this, little girl!'
"Yeah, Hydra's right. Let's retreat for now. We've got enough hatred to go around. All we need to do is lure her out and kill her."
Hydra's advice made Toxy nod in agreement, picking up Nergal as they did so.
The filthy mud seemed to sense Toxy's group's retreat, stretching out its tentacle-like appendages towards Toxy with incredible force.
If they got hit, it would be a devastating blow. Toxy's immortality wasn't like Wade's, where he could come back from the brink of death. If she lost half her body in one hit, even Toxy would die.
But as Hydra said, flying away was also difficult. The poisonous fog was so thick that even if she parted it, she couldn't see more than ten centimeters in front of her.
So Toxy said,
"Sandra, it's your turn!"
"Thunderbolt Burst Out!"
The thunderbolt burned away the poisonous fog.
The toxic fog surrounding them ignited instantly, fueled by the organic matter within it, spreading the flames outward from Sandra as the center.
"Couldn't see a thing from the middle, but it looks like we made it?"
"Yeah, come on, let's get out of here before Hygieia gets angry!"
"Got it!"
Toxy spread Hydra's wings, and Sandra used her magic to leap into the air.
Hygieia chased after them, stretching out her muddy tentacles to pursue the fleeing Toxy.
Toxy couldn't help but burst out laughing at this.
"Hahahahahaha! You can't catch me, Hygieia! You and I are so similar! You're my god! We're so alike!"
Toxy's trauma was triggered, and they snapped, just like Hygieia, who had been forced to kill her own father with her own hands.
The filthy mud worked its entire body like a muscle, stretching high into the air.
Toxy laughed, saying "It's a speed contest, then!" and poured power into her wings, shooting upward with a "Whoosh!"
Toxy and Sandra were flying high into the sky with all their might. The sludge of Hygieia was stretching out its hands to the sky, trying to entangle the two with its filthy mud and devour them.
Their altitude surpassed the Demon King's protection tower standing in the slums, and even exceeded the height of the Demon King's castle.
Hygieia's sludge still showed its stubbornness, pursuing Toxy like a thin tree branch.
At that moment, Toxy turned around. On the palm of her hand, the ancient dragon's mark left by Hydra was floating.
"Hydra, if I strike from here, will it hit Hygieia's entire body?"
'Hmm. Dragon Breath is a concept of destruction, a thick, piercing blow that reaches the depths of hell and into nothingness.'
"Then, can we kill God?"
'What a foolish question, little girl. Dragon Breath was created to kill God, the first and foremost magic.'
Hygieia's sludge solidified. All living beings sense death, just like a frog stared down by a snake, a human facing a fierce beast, and even a god facing a monster's massive jaws.
"Hydra, strike!"
'Now, God, pray to the Creator.'
[Dragon Breath]
A massive beam of light was released from Toxy's ancient dragon mark. This was the privilege of the ancient dragon, the most destructive power in this world. It engulfed all of Hygieia's mire, which had stretched out high and thin.
The released destructive energy, unlike Hydra's usual toxic Dragon Breath, emitted a pure white light before leaving a trail and disappearing.
Nothing was left behind. The sludge of the dead, including the two gods, had certainly been erased by the Dragon Breath, leaving no trace of hatred or sorrow.
Immediately after, a strong sensation ran through Toxy's entire body. It was a feeling similar to when a magic seal was growing, yet different.
Toxy hugged her entire body and said.
"...I've taken the authority."
Just as Sur had said, Toxy had truly taken the authority from God. She had taken it. She knew it from the sensation running through her entire body.
"Toxy, Nice. How does it feel?"
With electricity accompanying her, Sandra jumped and clung to Hydra's back. However, Toxy wasn't in the mood for that.
"Hu, hufu, ahaha, ahahahahahaha...!"
Toxy trembled with an overwhelming sense of omnipotence emanating from her body. Seeing this, Sandra nodded in satisfaction, thinking "Toxy looks like she's having the time of her life, that's the best."
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