A dream, a hallucination, a fleeting vision, or the final moment's delirium.
In short, something like that.
To put it bluntly, it was all fake.
Damien was fake, the food was fake, and her restored vision was fake.
She must be close to death.
Otherwise, how could something so wonderful happen?
"You're really..."
Damien gave a wry smile, gently patting the girl's head. "Stop overthinking. I'm truly a god."
"Also, one of my purposes for descending to this world is to save Cursed Children like you."
Hearing "Cursed Child." the girl stiffened, then looked up earnestly. "Are you serious?"
"Of course!"
Damien stood upright, gazing with her at the riverbank. "In another world, I saw you, and many others like you."
"I couldn't bear to see you suffer in this world any longer."
"So, I plan to take you away from here, to a place like paradise, to start a new life."
Damien spoke the truth.
When he watched Black Bullet, he felt deep sympathy for the Cursed Children, treated like tools.
Now, with the power and opportunity to visit this world, why not take them to his Monster Kingdom?
Just a few hundred thousand little girls... Damien could easily support them.
From a racial perspective, Cursed Children in the Cardinal World would likely be classified as Beastmen by the Voice of the World.
This meant his Monster Kingdom would gain four or five hundred thousand beastmen... a win-win outcome.
"Can we really?"
"Is this not just my dream?"
"Even someone like me, hated by everyone..."
"Am I really noticed by a god?"
Though she said this, tears streamed down the girl's face.
Abandoned by her mother, blinded by molten lead simply because her mother despised her red Gastrea eyes, she struggled to survive in this world, scavenging for scraps.
No matter how hard it was, she faced it with a smile.
But Damien's words broke her, unleashing her suppressed grief and pain, urging her to sob.
She feared this was fake.
That Damien was deceiving her.
No gods, no paradise... just her own fantasy, a dream.
But even if it's a dream, it's a beautiful one.
To a girl without hope or future, such a dream was pure bliss.
"It's alright now."
Damien didn't mind her state, holding her gently and comforting her. "Your pain, your misfortune... it'll all end soon. I promise..."
"Thank you, thank you, Kami-sama!"
After a cathartic cry, the girl calmed down.
Wiping her tears, she smiled again. "Is there anything I can do for you, Kami-sama?"
"Well..."
Damien didn't refuse. "Take me to meet those poor children. Let them know a god has come to save them."
"Mm!"
The blind girl now fully trusted Damien.
Words could lie.
Her restored eyes could be high-tech trickery.
But the gentle aura Damien exuded, the compassion and acceptance in his eyes and words... those couldn't be faked.
This young man was unlike anyone else.
He didn't despise or reject her; he genuinely cared for Cursed Children like her.
To the blind girl, if anyone in the world could accept all Cursed Children, it was him... their god.
"This way, Kami-sama."
Soon, guided by the girl, Damien found her two younger sisters hiding under the bridge.
During this time, he asked for her name.
Sadly, due to her mother's hatred, she had none.
"Hiyori."
Damien said, "From now on, I'll call you Hiyori. How's that?"
Hiyori, a name from a novel he'd read.
He hoped she'd live strongly and find a path to happiness.
"Thank you, Kami-sama!"
"I love the name Hiyori!"
Hiyori had never felt so light and free.
Holding Damien's hand, she introduced her two sisters.
Though physically healthy, they were tiny, only five or six years old.
They huddled in a corner, draped in a brown tablecloth... their only shield against the cold nights.
Relying on their stronger-than-human Cursed Child bodies and clinging together for warmth, they endured countless freezing nights.
"Sister..."
Seeing Hiyori return so soon, the two girls snuggled close.
But they quickly noticed something unusual.
"Sister, your eyes..."
"You can see!"
Though young, her sisters weren't foolish... they saw her eyes were healed.
"It's all thanks to Kami-sama's grace."
Hiyori eagerly introduced Damien to the girls.
At first, they feared him, instinctively hiding behind her.
But after Damien had Hiyori share the food, the innocent girls happily called him "Kami-nii."
"Good, good."
Damien patted their heads, cleansing their bodies of defects.
He also compared their G-Virus to Hiyori's, accelerating his analysis of its genetic sequence.
"Do you know other children?"
"Bring them here."
Damien tasked the two little girls with this mission.
Despite their size, their strength surpassed most adults.
The two eagerly accepted his task.
Over the next hour, Cursed Children trickled in.
They were cautious at first, fearing a trap.
But after Damien conjured food and healed their injuries, they became his fans, calling him "Kami-nii" non-stop.
***
If you like the Classroom of the Elite and Danganronpa series, don't hesitate to check out the new project I'm currently working on:
[COTE: The True Perfect Human]
Synopsis:
Since the era when humanity was still focused on steam and coal, people have already been questioning what the Perfect Human truly looks like.
Some say the Perfect Human possesses overwhelming physical strength… others claim the Perfect Human has unparalleled intelligence.
Of course, there are also those who believe the Perfect Human possesses both... strength and intellect.
Like Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
That's why when people ask who the most perfect human in all of fiction is, they often point to the Masterpiece of the White Room as the Perfect Human.
But… only the OGs know that the only Perfect Human who has ever walked this earth is...
The Ultimate Hope…
Izuru Kamukura.
...
This is the story of Izuru Kamukura as he challenges Classroom of the Elite searching for whether there is anything in this world capable of dispelling his boredom.