Chapter - 18

"Aase, Kurumi..."

A name that rang a bell.

I wonder if she thought that the words she was subconsciously muttering were calling her.

The owner of the carving knife──the figure who had knelt on the ground and slashed my heel with the tip of the knife raised his face.

"...!"

I swallowed my breath.

Even if I said it was a face, I couldn't make out its features.

There's a bandage wrapped around his eyes, and they're blackened with a trace of blood.

The impact of that part is so strong that the impression of another nose or mouth is not conveyed to the rest of the head.

Hair dragging on the ground and bandages covering eyes stained with fresh blood. Only two things are being emphasized.

Move the light away from the face and look at the body.

Torn clothing, bandages, and casts.

The left hand and right foot are very tightly immobilized due to the severity of the damage.

She's obviously not going to be able to move an inch.

She──the gender of which I can guess from the bulge in her chest──has crawled away.

She creeps along on only her right elbow and left knee, which are still alive.

There was an odd slickness to its movements that made it appropriate to call it a sweet potato worm, or... slug.

My clothes and floor are stained with dirt, and the bandage on my elbow is frayed and falling off from the considerable friction I've tasted.

Shredded meat peeking out from the broken parts. Blood oozing out of the gash.

You've been crawling in this position the whole way──?

Not very fast, but not resting either.

It's a tenacity that, if it were real, wouldn't be human at all.

She's been pushing through the ground, which is like a wall to her, like it's a bare-knuckle rock climbing challenge.

Wicked...

She's been closing the distance, leaning in toward me, where I'm cowering in rigor mortis.

I can't even back away properly due to the shock and the injury to my heel that threatens to explode in violent pain at the slightest movement.

I just stare blankly at the woman.

She's completely frozen. It's frozen solid.

The woman freezes, staring at me in horror, even though she has a bandage over her eye.

Her lips curl up into an eerie smile.

All my nerves are on edge for the moment.

"Ears..."

My breathing slowly becoming ragged.

The blood pulsing beneath my skin is still so cold it feels like it could stop my heart.

"The ghost...

The presence that I used to pretend to be strong and say "I'm not scared!" in front of my parents when I was younger, but in reality, it was so painful that I didn't want to go to the bathroom at night, but I couldn't help it, so I had to go, and I thought it was hiding in the darkness of the hallway, so I turned around a little bit and pointed it out a few times, and felt relieved that it wasn't there.

It was getting to the point where I could reach it.

I'm leaking a little bit, in fact, I think I'm going to be incontinent.

It's an uncomfortable warmth.

BANG.

Suddenly, an unpleasant sound rang out, causing the ghost's body to swell and grow larger.

"Aaah...!?"

I immediately realize it's an illusion.

But this can't be──

She had used the recoil of the ground to stand up with momentum.

With just one hand and one foot...that's impossible!

As much as you deny it, you can't erase the reality of her standing upright in front of you.

Still, I can't move my right leg, so I lean over and try to collapse, breaking my stance.

The sound of the wind whistling.

An object galloped from her side, reversing the light of the pew lamp.

──A carving knife!

No way.

To strike that thing down!

She stood up, knowing her posture would collapse!

My eyes are being sucked in.

The trajectory makes a great arc, catching me in the nape of the neck...!

"Hic!"

You let out a pathetic scream and spin around, swinging the pocket torch in your hand.

Kaang.

Barely missing, the tip of the carving knife and the flashlight collide, sending sparks flying into the darkness.

The trajectory is off-kilter and deflects to the wrong side.

You barely block it.

Whoosh, whoosh.

You're scared, but...I'm confident in my fuselage vision...!

I hope you don't think too little of me for being a kid!

Shortly after that, there's a loud popping sound from her side and her body hits the ground.

She hadn't thought about the landing at all, and it was such a hard thud that it hurt just listening to it.

But there's no time to let your guard down.

The woman doesn't care that she's down, swinging her weapon around, stabbing and striking again and again.

She only has one arm, and each attack is very heavy.

In a desperate attempt to defend herself, she smashes into a pew lamp.

Sparks fly. A ringing metallic sound.

──Closing in on you!

It's clear that the slightest opening will cut off his breathing.

"Kwah...!"

A one-sided defensive battle with no room for counterattack.

Your opponent doesn't show any signs of fatigue, but rather seems to be mesmerized by something and continues to attack relentlessly.

It's a never-ending battle. Stamina seems to be up there, turned into a bloodthirsty wraith.

It's slowly closing in.

It's dark in here, even with the best fuselage vision.

On top of that, the only light, the pew lamp, has to be used as a weapon.

To be clear, the situation is very bad, very unfavorable.

If we stay in this stalemate, we'll only be at a disadvantage.

You begin to retreat, gritting your teeth.

Slower than an ant, but steadily.

When you've gained enough distance, you take the cap off the flashlight and eject the batteries.

Two AAA batteries. I catch them in midair as they slip and fall.

"Eight, eight!"

I use the snap of my wrist to throw it.

It doesn't even bounce off, but hits him square in the face.

It won't do much damage, but it'll knock him off his feet.

I turn my back and drag my injured foot away.

I could hear them chasing after me, trudging, trudging, but I never looked back, running away as fast as I could.

The hallways you've grown accustomed to seeing──a space you can navigate even with your eyes closed.

Now it is heavily closed with anxiety and darkness that has a mass beyond darkness.

It felt very long.

No matter how wide I opened my eyes and stared at the other side, I couldn't reach the end.

It's too far away. You want to stop walking

...But you have to keep going. There's no point in whining.

You're not a weak-willed child, Maya, to cower in useless fear and let fate decide your fate.

For now, run away, relying only on legs that move and legs that don't move, hands that find shoulders to lean on and walls to find.

Before an unrelenting grudge sinks its fangs into this leg and stitches it shut.

If you're caught, you're doomed. The Reaper is right there!

"Ha, ha, ha..."

A ghostly woman with long hair, bandaged and armed with a carving knife──Is Ayase Kurumi.

I can't think of anyone else.

You're supposed to be dead, and you're still alive after being hit by a truck.

And you've come all the way here, to a house I've never visited.

I can't even see you... Maybe they followed your scent or something.

Alas, what a terrifying person.

I was downplaying it. I was mistaken.

A dog is a dog, but she's not a simple bitch.

A hunting dog that silently approached without barking──!

"Ew!"

A sting in the heel.

Turning around absentmindedly, I saw a blade stuck in the wound on my leg that I was dragging.

It was getting closer than I expected.

I quickly try to pull it out, but the blade slices through and I lose consciousness for a moment.

"Ahhhhh!"

It takes all your willpower to hold on to the body that is about to collapse. You manage to hold on.

"Haat...!"

As she tries to attack you further, you throw the body of the lamp, now unnecessary due to the missing batteries, at her face.

Thud. That stops her for a moment. I pick up my pace and resume my advance.

But I can see that the distance is closing and I'm about to be caught up.

I feel like crying. I'm scared. I'm scared of being hurt. I'm scared of being caught. I'm scared of being killed.

"Ugh, ugh."

I wanted to call out loud and ask for help.

You take a deep breath and decide to take action.

"......"

But then you stop.

Not because I couldn't find my voice.

Shouting here would slow down my movements.

I'll catch up to you in the meantime, and by the time you get here, I'll be out of commission.

I've done the rational calculations to see if that would happen.

Above all, I am.

I didn't rely on you to protect me.

I'm not the kind of person who cries out in misery and waits to be rescued.

I'm not the kind of person who cries out in misery and waits to be rescued.

I know when it's critical to pretend to be strong.

I don't need your direct help.

As long as your presence is a crutch in my heart, that's enough.

My dependence is a faith, a belief.

Thinking of him gives me strength. What else do I need.

──Good, Ayase Kurumi.

Soil to soil, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

I will return the dead to their coffins.

We'll butcher them to make sure they can't rise again.

Specifically, we'll slit their throats.

It's going to be hard, but we'll try. Come on, Maya.

You're not too old to be scared of ghosts anymore.

And stop making silly comments like you don't like getting your hands dirty.

When you're done, the only thing you'll need help with is disposing of the body.

His conscience won't be bruised from disposing of the remains of his rapist boyfriend.

I'm just putting things back where they belong.

Don't look down on me. I'm a can-do girl.

Now──I present to you, the collar-less one, a thick calf's leash, the one that leads to hell.

Consider it a mercy that I'm sending you back to the other side with a noshigami (*Note 1) attached.

A rabid dog must die!

Determined to fight back, you head to the kitchen.

You decide to procure weapons. You can't win with your bare hands.

"Haah, haah...hooo...haah..."

You stagger forward, breathing heavily in pain.

I somehow manage to get to the kitchen, where I grab a spare pocket light from under the dish rack along with a kitchen knife.

Her eyes are not yet acclimated to the darkness.

By the light of this, I can see her urgency for now. I make quick work of it.

Clinging to the gas pole, I light it up and prepare for the attack.

For some reason, the enemy's steps have gotten heavier.

Oh no. Are they late because they're exhausted from the small skirmish earlier?

Hmmm, no matter how ghostly you look, you still have some traces of your humanity.

I can beat you, then.

Come on, come on, come on. We're ready to intercept.

Whoo-hoo-hoo, Mr. Beach. We'll stab you to death and send you back to the other side.

And the house dog you met there

"Let's get along and become ... komainu (*Note 2)!"

He turned to look back with a belligerent air.

──Kirik

Kirikkirikkirik...

I heard a bizarre clicking sound from behind me.

Huh, what is it this time?

You get a sick feeling in your stomach, but you can't ignore it either.

You steel yourself and turn around.

"Ha?"

The sight that jumps out at you is your eyes.

Because the carving knife that was in her hand a moment ago was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, something strange was emerging.

Maintained by a free, uncasted right hand, its appearance could only be described in one word: a small bow.

Resting at its side like a crossbow.

Kurumi Ayase was holding the strings in her mouth and pulling her head back as hard as she could, producing the on sound she had heard earlier.

To add to that, the exposed neck──is very white.

Her biting teeth are also white, reflecting the light.

Between... licks!

In addition to the bowstring in its mouth, it is also biting the pattern of an arrow. The bow is already mounted──

Yes, that's a bit of a lie.

The flying tool that I hadn't realized was aimed right at me.

It was already a full-fledged work of art, not even comparable to the battery or the pagoda lamp I threw earlier.

Her delay wasn't due to fatigue, it was to set that thing up.

Maybe that's the answer.

Wait, where was she hiding that thing!

How could she possibly shoot it properly in that condition!

The answer to my erupting questions is a silent blow.

Electromineralization. The high-pitched sound of a string being plucked turns the flying arrow into a streak of shadow.

No matter how good your fuselage vision, you can't avoid it.

"Ouch!"

With a jolt that makes you feel like you're going to fall down, a foreign object lodges in your shoulder.

Unbelievable discomfort and a bit of a late onset of pain.

The stark realization that I have an extra object crammed into my body.

It's an insane shock that doesn't even compare to what I experienced during puberty.

I'm already voiceless, and I'm sweating profusely as I open and close my mouth.

The urge to look at the arrow protruding from my shoulder blade and furiously pluck it out was overwhelming.

But when you imagine the pain of pulling it out and the wound it will leave behind, you don't feel like reaching for it.

Thinker's dilemma──vomiting and chills run rampant.

Apparently amused by my fear, Ayase Kurumi smirks and gives me a rude smile.

Then she bites down on the second arrow and slowly nocks it. Squeak, squeak, squeak.

Do, I have to run away...

But.

There's nothing between me and her, and with one foot burdened, I can't make a semi-sensitive move; there's nowhere to run.

So do I curl up and stay put, knowing that doing so will only get me mauled and killed?

Cornered, unable to do this or that. You cower because you don't have the means to fight back.

My mind is blackened with despair, wondering if I have no choice but to die.

──Not only my mind, but also my vision is slowly being eroded from the corners.

The bleeding in my heel must have finally become dangerous.

You've turned your back on your steed and now you've fallen on your face.

You shake your head, trying to shake off the drowsiness, but you can't. You can't shake it off.

You can't shake it off.

My eyelids are falling down of their own accord, and the strength in my neck is slipping away.

I feel like I'm going to fall asleep standing up.

"Not at this... time..."

Tyr's voice is far away from mine.

"If you fall asleep...if you fall asleep, it's over...maya..."

My consciousness descends gently, sinking into the dream world.

The world of dreams.

That's right──immersed in the world of lucid dreaming.

Peering into a kaleidoscope of hyper-colored lights that leapfrogged cause and effect.

I looked.

"Ah."

I squeeze my throat.

"Aaaah."

As hard as I could, scraping from the bottom of my stomach.

"──hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

It gives a lion hoo.

Without hesitation, it swiftly slashes at my thigh.

The overflowing blood──the sharp, intense pain brings me back to consciousness.

It's a forced awakening, but I manage to crush the clinging suma.

In the real world, the arrow was surely about to fire now.

...wouldn't let that happen.

I snap, and a fire of rage burns in my gut.

Don't be ridiculous. Don't be smug with your bitch talk.

I don't owe you this life.

The body that I swore to give my all to belongs to you──

You're the only one who can kill me!

The unshakeable rule of dependence...The right to live and die belongs to him.

You can't go against it.

"──Wild zombies!"

I'm a god of unlimited energy. In a burning rage.

A shaking, spreading mirage──Vaporized flesh continues to expand.

My chest feels tight. The pressure of hatred rising, threatening to burst this tiny body.

Swearing. Loosening the inhibitions, releasing the fury.

"Aaaah!!!"

I take a step forward to throw the kitchen knife I'm clutching with all my might.

On the way, I slipped on the blood that was soaking the floor.

"Eh?"

My vision tilts, and the kitchen knife slips out of my hand.

Kurumi Ayase's arrow grazes my arm and flies right through the side of my body, sending me flying backwards.

A snap and the sound of something splitting. It must be cooling.

I collapse in a dive into a pool of blood, rolling around in a giant spray of blood.

My own blood, still warm. Covering him in it.

Not shy of rolling, confident of victory.

I see with certainty in my eyes as the kitchen knife that came loose slams against the ceiling, bounces, and then falls, plunging into the back of the bitch who isn't dying when she should be....

There's no reasonable reason for the bitch to be able to dodge a blow from a blind angle, in addition to the stiffness after shooting the arrow.

The tip of the kitchen knife stuck, not deep, but not so shallow either.

Just as I saw in my precognitive dream a moment ago.

A stab from the future──an unavoidable blow that will hit.

It's not like I've calculated, "If I throw it at this angle, it'll deflect and hit," or anything like that.

I just realized that if you fight back with all-consuming energy, you'll be able to dodge arrows and pierce kitchen knives, and that somehow, a causal relationship like the old-fashioned strength theory of the distant past is being established by chance in this situation.

Not that I have much of a view anyway.

At least I have an advantage over you, who are completely blind.

Ayase Kurumi twitched once, loudly, and then dropped her bow, apparently out of breath, and became motionless.

Me looking on with satisfaction.

...Victory!

This is what you want to hear, words of praise.

"Way to go, Maya, you did it!"

And I want to be petted. Your head, like this, so that your hair is fluffy.

Mmmm, that's exciting.

The bitch hunt is over.

Starting tomorrow, I'll be spending a leisurely life with you as accomplices in the destruction of corpses!

──I had such a bright future in my mind.

Unfortunately, I've exhausted my strength, and I can't get up even if I strain my stomach.

I can't even move my fingertips.

No, that's an exaggeration, I can move when I try, but it's impossible to stand up and run to my beloved senior and jump into his arms.

I guess it's not a win, it's a draw.

Alas, there was no winner in our fight after all.

Just two losers lying here.

Falling down together──the end of a fruitless romantic turf war.

It's miserable.

I try to console my dying soul with self-help anyway.

But it's too much. I can't stop my eyes from burning and tears from falling.

Alas, it's cold. Why is it so cold, even at night, it's summer.

Blood. The tears. The body temperature. And even my soul, overflowing from me and falling away.

On a road that, until yesterday, I blindly believed would lead anywhere.

The big, big shutters come out.

Waiting is a future equal to the woman sprawled out there.

Now I can't go anywhere, and I'm not even allowed to stay here.

Oche without a mooring──for those of us who have lost the ability to connect and stop, there is no tomorrow.

I'm lonely.

I'm lonely, senior.

My chest feels tight. I want to be alive. I want to still live together.

And if that doesn't happen.

I want you to take care of me, at least for the last bit──

I hoped so in my fading consciousness.

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*Note 1. Noshigami: Paper ribbon used to wrap gifts.

*Note 2. Komainu: A statue of a pair of lion-like beasts placed face to face in front of a shrine.