Chapter 176: Ch 176: Reina’s Hallucinations - Part 2

’Something is wrong...I don’t think I have ever seen Shelly look like this.’

The first thing Reina noticed were the bags beneath Shelly’s dull eyes. Then she noticed her pale complexion.

The usual spark that Shelly carried was missing as well and instead, there was an air of detachment surrounding her.

Shelly did not say anything as she pushed past Reina, and it made Reina reach out and grab her hand immediately.

"Shelly, wait-! Do you know where Rin is-"

The reaction was instant.

The pink-haired girl regained her spark and immediately turned toward Reina to clutch her shoulder tightly.

’It hurts. Shelly’s grip is too tight. It’s definitely going to leave a mark.’

Reina flinched at the painful grip and immediately tried to take a step back to break free from Shelly’s hold. But Shelly was far too strong and refused to let go.

It made Reina question what was going on.

"What are you trying to do? Let me go. It hurts."

Reina complained, but it only served to make Shelly’s grip tighten around her shoulder.

Shelly was so quiet that Reina doubted she would even speak. But the pink-haired girl shocked her once more by speaking up.

"Do you think this is some sick joke? You want to know where Rin is? Don’t you know where he is already? After all, you were the one who declared him dead!"

Shelly’s voice was quieter than usual, but the impact of her words felt crushing.

Reina blinked as she tried to process what she had just heard. But none of this made sense to her.

’Rin...is dead? How and why? I knew he was reckless with all his stunts, but I never expected him to die-’

"What are you looking at me for? And why do you look so confused? Are you trying to pretend you don’t know anything to ease your guilt? Because it’s not going to be that easy. I am not going to let you forget about Rin’s death."

Shelly promised, and her grip began to hurt even more.

Reina tried to take another step back and break free when Shelly’s smile widened slightly. It was slipping into the ’creepy’ category now.

Shelly must have noticed her discomfort, but she chose to ignore it and continue.

"Reina, don’t you ever forget that you are the reason Rin died. You had a chance to save him, but you failed. He is dead because of your negligence."

Those words hit Reina like a punch. Her knees felt weak and her head spun.

"T-This is not true...! Stop lying to me. I did not..."

Reina tried to deny what Shelly was telling her, but it was hard. Memories were pouring into her head that had not been there before.

She could recall Rin looking sick in her office and her trying to help him. She could even remember attempting to use her powers, but it had all been useless.

And then she remembered Rin collapsing and taking his last breath while she stood frozen in place.

The next thing she recalled was standing at his funeral, feeling empty as everyone around her took turns throwing flowers onto Rin’s grave.

She was the only one who could not do it because guilt was eating away at her. It was her fault Rin died...all her fault.

"N-No! That can’t be true...! This is just a hallucination. None of this is real-"

Reina was hyperventilating as she tried to talk herself out of the panic attack. She was almost successful when Shelly grabbed her arms at the last second, forcing Reina to look at her.

"Do you truly believe that all of this is an illusion? Don’t be a fool! You know what you did and now you are trying to run away from it. But I won’t let you."

Shelly promised as her hand moved toward Reina’s face and dug her nails into her skin.

"I won’t let you forget. Nor will I forgive you. You will spend your whole life repenting for what happened."

Shelly promised as she tightened her grip.

It hurt a lot, but it was nothing compared to the emotional emptiness Reina felt at the moment.

The world seemed to have died the second she learned Rin was no longer alive. Nothing else mattered to Reina anymore, not even her own life.

’Maybe it’s time for me to close my eyes for good and join Rin. I don’t want to live if he’s not here. I-’

Another sharp pain broke Reina’s train of thought. It was a dull ache, but it was distracting enough to pull her out of her spiral.

Reina did not want to get distracted. She wanted to keep mourning Rin and repenting for his loss-

"You are leaving me no choice. I will apologize for hurting you later. For now, snap out of it."

The faint voice whispered and the next thing Reina knew, her whole body jolted in shock. And it was not an ordinary shock either.

She felt like she had been tased with a powerful device, leaving her limbs twitching.

She gasped and squeezed her eyes shut before blinking rapidly and opening them again. Her surroundings changed in an instant, and instead of the corridor, she was standing on top of the roof in Rin’s arms.

Rin was looking at her with a concerned expression and monsters lay dead around him.

"What happened-"

Reina’s voice sounded hoarse and it hurt to speak. But her desire for answers was stronger than her desire to rest.

"You lost concentration and dropped your abilities. Then you got caught in a hallucination. I tried to break you out of it, but nothing worked. So I decided to take an extreme option in the end. I hope you can forgive me for that."

Rin told her and Reina noticed the device sitting beside him.

She chose not to comment on Rin’s use of weapons and instead focused on pulling herself together.

"Should I use my ability again?"

She asked, but Rin shook his head.

"There is no longer any need for that. There is only a minute left in this task. We finally managed to make it to the end."

Rin sounded relieved and it filled Reina with joy as well.

Honestly, she was still dealing with the aftereffects of her hallucination. Her heart had not recovered yet.

But with Rin by her side, she felt like she was slowly healing.