Our tour this time was another great success!
Now we can have a little party with our souvenirs from Aomori as a celebration…
These apple and buttercream cookies are so yummy! You should have one too, Brother Dearest. Say “ahh”.
Mm… Yeah, they’re pretty good. You want some of my food too? Here, “ahh”.
…It’s like they’re in their own little world.
I’m glad to see that everything has gone back to normal.
Yeah, that’s great and all, but… Yeesh, just watchin’ them’s making me break out in hives.
*phone ringing*
…Sorry. It’s from Morozumi-san.
It’s okay. Go and answer it.
Can you now feed me in place of Ryooey? It just so happens that I have this Baby Bird-Esque Infinite Mouth-to-Mouth Feeding Spoon.
No, thank you.
Shut down-cut down…
Oh, by the way, Netaro-san, do you know what “apoptosis” means?
The doctor was really surprised to see that my body didn’t have any signs of frostbite.
That is because I made you undergo apoptosis before the cold killed your cells itself.
Apoptosis? What’s that?
Can you tell me?
Aa-chama, pleeeaase?
In layman’s terms, apoptosis is the internal destruction of cells within your body.
The antonym of apoptosis is necrosis, which is what most humans typically describe as “death”. It is when your cells are destroyed by external causes or damage.
So having your cells be destroyed internally is different from dying?
For example, when a silkworm transforms into a moth, the process that occurs within its cocoon is apoptosis. That doesn’t kill the silkworm, correct?
Right.
Similarly, humans undergo apoptosis when they lose their webbed body parts and transform inside their mothers’ wombs!
Ohh.
Do you understand?
Hmm, sort of.
(…I guess that means Aa-chama was trying to protect me.)
(I feel like they didn’t show me the full extent of their power when I challenged them either…)
(But I’m just glad that my relationship with Aa-chama and my dear brother are back to the way they were.)
Hello?
<Ay, you been doin’ better lately? How’s l’il Toi-san holdin’ up?>
He’s been getting better. Eatin’ like he used to too. Like you said, that white cocoon that was wrappin’ around him wasn’t anything bad.
<Glad t’ hear it.>
You wanted to tell me somethin’ else, yeah?
<Yep. Got some info on Oshisha-sama.>
But I already toldja what I read in Toi’s diary. Oshisha’s…
<S’true that the original god, Oshisha-sama, got killed. But…>
<Oshisha-sama’s actually two gods.>
Huh…?
<’Ccordin’ to an old legend…>
<Long time ago, a girl and a horse both got killed ‘cuz they weren’t allowed t’ be married. ‘Cuz a’ that, their souls never got t’ rest. Folks worshipped ‘em, and that’s how Oshisha-sama came t’ be.>
So the god who was killed was the soul of one of those two?
<I reckon. That means the other half a’ them might still be out there.>
<If they are, I reckon they got one heck of a grudge, so they’ll be mighty powerful. That there could be the key to help ya kill Astaroth.>
…Gotcha.
<I’ll give ya a ring if I find out more.>
Okay. Thanks.
A god with a grudge…
Even if they’re a god, if they’re full a’ hatred and anger, they gotta be handled carefully.
(I guess there’s no other way for me to completely erase Astaroth from this world… Just gotta find out where the guy is.)
If you’re out there, I’d ‘ppreciate it if you’d answer me.
I WON’T FORGIVE YOU.
?!
(I just…heard a voice in my—)
Ah, Brother Dearest!
Toi? Didja hear that…?
Hm?
Guess I just imagined it…
Are you done talking on the phone? Netaro-san’s about to eat the rest of the snacks we got from Aomori.
Damn, can’t let that happen. Alright, let’s go back.
Okay!
(As long as I’m with Brother Dearest…)
(As long as I’m with Toi…)
(We’ll always be walking side-by-side.)
(From the day we were born, ‘til now, and forever…)
(As long as I wish for…)
(As long as I hope for…)
(Always and forever…)