“Soul Fusion!!” Episode 3 [Creative Award 2024 - Manga Original Story Category Entry]

“What is this!?” “What is this!?” “What’s going on!?” “What does this mean!?”
The four voices overlapped. After a breath, Himeno answered.
“...It’s a group call. I’m troubled if you all talk at once... but I understand your questions. You want to know what kind of situation this is, right?”
“Y-yes!”
“From the soul fusion in the gymnasium last night, I found out that your soul power is reasonably high.”
“A-and what about that?”
“There are several ways to detect and investigate soul power... I don’t know the details, but your soul power is already generally known throughout this academy city. Therefore, you have become targets.”
“Ta-targets!?”
“What are you blabbering about!”
“Whoa!?”
As the boy slashed at him again, Choji hurriedly dodged and asked.
“Why is it turning out like this!?”
“To absorb the opponent’s soul power and increase one’s own soul power.”
“Ehh!?”
“You who survived the ‘Soul Fusion Club’ orientation are perfect targets.”
“W-we haven’t decided to join yet!”
“That is no longer a major issue. Once you have increased your soul power and manifested a soul tool, you have become an existence that they cannot ignore.”
“Who is ‘they’!?”
“For example... the guys attacking you right now.”
“Hey!”
“Guh!?”
Another boy slashed from a different direction, but Choji managed to dodge this one too.
“Tch!”
“There are more!? Isn’t it just one person!?”
“...Looking at it, it seems to be his underlings.”
“What!?”
“The soul tool they are using is... hmm, a ‘Soul Fire Bento Blade’, huh...”
“Ehh!?”
“I see, it’s just about lunchtime...”
“W-wait a minute!”
“What is it?”
“A-are you, by any chance, President, in a place where we can see you?”
“Well, I did sort of lure you there...”
“Wh-where are you!?”
“Let’s just say... a place where you can see me perfectly.”
“Th-that’s!”
“Hey, this is no time to be looking away.”
“!? Whoa!?”
A boy slashed from yet another direction. Choji dodged this one too.
“You can’t do anything just by dodging.”
“B-but!”
“Right now, you are standing at a crossroads... Will you have your soul power sucked away by those guys without even knowing why, or will you join the Soul Fusion Club and master the heights of soul power... Now, which do you choose, the former or the latter?”
“Th-that’s obvious!”
The four answered in unison to Himeno’s question.
“The former!” “The latter!” “The latter!” “The latter!”
“!? A-ah, what!?”
“...Yuzuki Choji, it seems only you are different...?”
“N-no, it’s the latter! Um, that, the order was reversed!”
“What is that... well, fine, everyone intends to master the heights, right?”
“Y-yes!”
“Good! That spirit is excellent!”
Himeno nodded with satisfaction at the four’s response. Choji muttered in a low voice.
“Honestly, I don’t get it...”
“Don’t look away just after I said that.”
“! Whoops!”
“Your reaction is good...”
Watching Choji, Himeno muttered as if impressed. Choji raised his voice.
“I-is it my imagination, or are there more enemies!”
“It’s not your imagination. Assume the whole plaza is full of enemies.”
“P-President, don’t just watch, come and help!”
“It would be a letdown if I used a strong character from the beginning of the game.”
“Y-you consider yourself a strong character... wait, the beginning!?”
“That’s right, this is, so to speak, a tutorial to check the controls.”
“A tu-tutorial!?”
“However! It’s a tutorial where the enemy characters come at you for real.”
“You wouldn’t call that a tutorial!”
Choji raised his voice again. Himeno spoke calmly.
“You’re just on the defensive, start attacking soon. This plaza has now become a battleground for soul fusion. It’s invisible from the outside, and ordinary people won’t wander in, so rest assured about that.”
“Th-that’s true, but!”
“Hmm? Is there something else?”
“I don’t know how to manifest my soul tool!”
“What, is that all?”
“That’s all! It’s an important thing!”
“Sharpen your concentration and expand your own image...”
“Concentration... image...”
Choji ruminated on Himeno’s words. Himeno raised his voice.
“And shout it as you wish!”
“Soul~Tool!” “Yeah!” “Ha!” “Hmph...”
“A-ah, what...?”
Choji looked at his surroundings and tilted his head. Himeno spoke while suppressing a laugh.
“Y-you don’t really need to shout that much, like, ‘Soul~Tool!’...”
“Ehh!?”
Choji’s face turned bright red.
“A-anyway, all four of you succeeded in manifesting...”
“Eh? Whoa!”
“You don’t have the luxury of checking your surroundings! First, defeat the opponents closing in on you!”
“Guh!”
“He’ll dodge if it’s one-on-one! Attack at the same time!”
Such voices could be heard from the surrounding boys, and two of them slashed at Choji simultaneously, but Choji caught them with two blades. Himeno was impressed.
“Yuzuki Choji, your soul tool is ‘Soul Choice Blade’. It’s a bit surprising given your appearance, but your athletic ability is reasonably high, and you also have a good sense. That strength despite your slender build... catching one person’s attack with each hand... interesting.”
“Gugu... hey!”
Choji repelled the simultaneous attacks of the two after a blade lock. Himeno nodded.
“You endured a powerful attack from an opponent with a better physique last night, too... This might be a different role than I thought...”
“Sei!”
“Doh!”
“Gah!”
“Take this!”
Choji, who went on the counterattack, absorbed the soul power of the boys who attacked him. Himeno announced.
“First of all, well done... However, there are still many enemies. Don’t let your guard down.”
“Y-yes!”
“Now, as for the other three... the only girl, Kiryu Rui, your soul tool is...”
As far as Himeno could see, Rui was facing her opponent with a small, white-glowing blade.
“Ha!”
“That is... ‘Soul White Blade’, huh? It’s an applied form, but to think it would be a small blade... That seems like it would be at a significant disadvantage in terms of reach...!”
“!”
“Kya!”
“Wah!”
Rui moved quickly to get inside the opponent’s guard and absorbed their souls one after another.
“I see... so she compensates for the slight disadvantage in reach with speed and martial arts... It’s concerning that she thinks she’s being stealthy when she’s not at all... well, that’s fine.”
“Ha! Ha!”
“She can use hit-and-run tactics... I thought she had a tricky role, but it might be interesting to have her fight in a different way than expected.”
Himeno nodded as if convinced and turned his eyes to the other two.
“Reizawa Amon, your soul tool is...”
“Ha!”
Amon swung a blade with a unique shape where the tip was long and curved, sweeping away the surrounding enemies.
“That is... ‘Soul Spin Blade’, huh? It has a shape like a snake sword, so it can make effective attacks even against opponents at a certain distance...”
“Take this!”
“Gyaah!”
“Guh!”
When Amon manipulated the blade, the long extended blade shrank at once, and the souls of those caught in it were absorbed. Himeno was impressed.
“I see, the blade can extend and retract freely. This is troublesome... However, since it’s a ‘spin’... well, that can wait. Finally...”
Himeno shifted his gaze to the last one.
“Uwooh!”
“You’re spirited, Gaikoku Jin, your soul tool is...”
Jin was skillfully spinning two sticks with thick, yellow tips in his hands, playing with his opponents.
“Hmm? That is... ‘Soul Club’, used in rhythmic gymnastics? I thought he might be doing some sport given his physique, but rhythmic gymnastics... that was unexpected.”
“Ho! Ho!”
“Gueh!”
“Doh!”
Jin lowered his stance and threw the clubs upward. The souls of those who took the unexpected attack were absorbed one after another. Himeno nodded.
“The opponents are caught off guard and are clearly confused. It’s hard to predict, so it’s no wonder...”
“Haa... haa... is it cleared up?”
Choji asked Himeno while catching his breath. Himeno answered.
“All four of you fought better than I thought. Are you perhaps experienced in soul fusion from middle school?”
“There’s no middle school that does this kind of thing...”
“I’m joking. I’d like to say you did well, but... you guys have no coordination at all. You’ll have a hard time in the future if you’re like this, you know?”
“Even if you say that! This is the first time we’ve seen each other’s soul tools today!?”
“You need to be able to synchronize your breathing even with people you’ve just met. Don’t underestimate soul fusion.”
“This isn’t the group date I know!!?”
“Hey!”
“!”
A large man attacked the four with a sword. Although on a small scale, fire erupted. The four dodged in surprise. Himeno spoke calmly.
“So there was still one left... you could call him a boss character. You won’t clear the tutorial unless you defeat him.”
“Th-there’s fire coming out!?”
“He must be using a high-priced, high-quality Soul Fire Bento Blade.”
“Is that how it works!?”
“That’s how it works... Just looking at that one move, he’s a cut above the previous grunts. If you don’t coordinate, you won’t be able to do anything as you are now, right?”
“Th-that may be, but!”
“Your voices sound strained. Did you consume your soul power all at once and get exhausted? You need to build up more basic physical strength. But if you can’t get through this much, it’s a lost cause. The opponent won’t wait for you.”
“I’ll finish this!”
The large man raised his sword. Choji clicked his tongue.
“Tch! My body won’t move the way I want...”
“‘Recharge’!”
“!?”
When Amon thrust his blade into the ground, vibrations were transmitted to the surroundings. Amon shouted.
“With this, your soul power should have returned a little!”
“Ah, I can move!”
“Mmph!?”
Choji, who stepped forward, caught the man’s sword. Jin threw his soul clubs.
“Take this! ‘Spinning Throw’!”
“Whoa!?”
The man, hit on both shoulders by the two spinning soul clubs, recoiled. Choji called out to Rui.
“I leave it to you!”
“Leave it to me! ‘Puff Puff’!”
“Guhaah!”
The man, whose soul was absorbed by the attack of Rui, who danced lightly into the air, collapsed.
“It was improvised, but that was good coordination. I might be able to have expectations...”
Himeno muttered with a smile.