Reincarnated as an Alchemist - If i have no cheat then, i just have to make one

Chapter 26 - Boundary of Life and Death

[Was it really good thing to forget that precious memories?]

The other me said again. Behind him, the middle-school version of Kaoru was kneeling while sobbing. She had her uniform ripped at several places and her hair disheveled.

[If you were a normal boy, I doubt you will be able to save her at that time.]

He said again. I remembered the scene where Kaoru had that appearance. It was the time when she was about to be raped by high-school students. During middle school, Kaoru was quite popular. She was smart and athletic and a great sense of justice.

But because of that, she was famous and was hated by several people. Many of our schoolmates were jealous of her as many boys had confessed their love to her and got turned down. And at that time, one of them hired five high-school boys to 'ruin' her.

Kaoru always stayed behind till late as a student council president of our school. She was staying quite late on that time. On her way home, she was stopped by the hired high-school boys and dragged to the alley.

I, who was hooked by an anime about vampire hunter, often wandering inside the alleyways wearing my chuuni-uniform while carrying various 'tools' as I wished to meet a wandering vampire, undead, or serial killer and had a bout with him/her.

And thanks to this strange behavior, I spotted Kaoru got dragged into the alley with a rape attempt. Without caring about any consequences called at them. They looked down at me at first. One of them even threatened me with a knife.

I didn't know whether I got possessed by my own anger or a devil I coincidentally summoned on the previous day but at that moment, I unhesitant pulled out a homemade crossbow and loaded it with a nail as an arrow. They laughed at me but that laugh stopped when I shot it just barely missing one of their heads.

The fight broke out after that with the result of four of five high school boys receiving stabbing injuries from sharpened chopsticks, and nails and a middle-school boy with many bruises, swollen cheeks, tattered uniform, and few knife cuts. As for the last high-school boy, he was captured by a police without any significant injury.

I stayed silent.

[Thou art already a hero as well as a demon since long ago, Ren.]

The other 'me' said. The scene changed back into pitch black darkness. I looked around once again. Nothing could be found anywhere. Suddenly I felt gravity below me. It felt as if I was descending slowly toward somewhere.

Not long after that, I felt my legs touched some ground. I supported myself to stand in the endless darkness.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Footsteps came from behind me. I turned around and felt a presence standing before me. I couldn't see his face or stature in this darkness. I just could feel that he was there.

"Who are you?!!"

I asked. No response came from him. And at that time, two more presence came from my right. They just walked toward me and stopped before they reached distance around 2 meters from my place. Before I could call for any of them, another presence came from my left and behind me.

They neither talked nor approached me. They just stood there as if waiting for something.

[No need to be wary of them.]

I heard my other self's voice inside my head.

[After all, even you knows nothing about them, they know everything about you.]

He said. Suddenly blue colored light came from below. The scene changed. The pitch black color changed into a deep blue color. The pitch black scenery changed into an endless sky above a calm water surface expanding toward the horizon.