Reincarnated as the mother of an otome game's villainess?!

Chapter 45. Memoria da noite.

(From Rossane)

I suddenly remembered something. I had seen these types of creatures before. Yes, it was a long time ago, in another life.

—We identify them as Unreine Seele, though it was not us who came up with that term. Long story, I'll tell you about it another day, *** —said the person with the long emerald-like hair—, they are what happens to humans who abandon their humanity, either willingly or due to external influences.

—Can... Can they be brought back? —I saw my past self ask, her face was so blurry...

Did I really forget what my own face looked like? Uh... What was my name back then?

—Technically yes, but it is almost impossible with our current methods. They have to be reminded who they were, at a very deep level, and each person is different. Smell is said to be the best at bringing back a memory, but it only works if they already have an association with it. We can't go around with every possible smell, that's not practical or reasonable. So our efforts have been focusing on developing a method that can work on everyone despite their personal circumstances.

—And that is?

—Music! Everyone loves songs, and even something that you have never heard might sound nostalgic and connect with you.

—So... we are going to sing to them?

—It's our best hope, we have calculated the efficiency at 19.79%.

—Those are... great odds—my old self said, sarcastically.

—It is a work in progress. But we might need to accept the fact that we won't be able to turn all of them back to what they were.

—And what are we going to do with those we can't save?

—That's where you come in.

—ROSANNE!! —I heard someone calling me, and just as suddenly, I was back at the temple, with those who had become monsters inching towards Ingrid.

The one that had yelled my name had been Lillie, whose eyes seemed to beg me to do something. But what could I even do? My threads wouldn't be enough to deal with these creatures.

—Don't you already know? —I heard a voice in my head say, causing me a headache.

—SHUT UP! IF I KNEW, I WOULD HAVE DONE IT ALREADY?! —I yelled to my insides.

I couldn't think of anything that I could do, but I couldn't let them hurt Ingrid. The idea of her being hurt after all we have gone through, after almost seeing her fall into that boiling river, I just couldn't stand it. I could only see red.

—S T A Y A W A Y F R O M H E R! —I screamed, not sure what I would accomplish with that.

But... one instant after, the creatures weren't there anymore, alongside a huge chunk of the wall.

—Wha? —was the only thing I could say before I fell to the ground on my knees.

I could think a little bit better now, but as some sort of exchange, I couldn't feel much of my body. I felt like I was falling inside of myself, until Ingrid, Lillie, and Elise rushed to help me. For some reason, just having them close by helped me regain some strength. The mask I had been covering my face with did fall to the ground, breaking a bit on impact. But more importantly, alongside the mask, my two horns also fell. I got a weird feeling seeing them, for some reason, the idea of not having them made me shudder, like if we were talking about losing a finger. I was actually relieved when I touched my forehead, and found out I still had part of them.

—Are you alright? —Ingrid asked me.

—Ye-yeah, I think so. What... What happened?

—I think you blew those creatures away —Lillie's mom said.