“Pfft!”
“He/She drank that bottle of medicine themselves?”
…
(…What else could have happened?..)
(…Do you think I would joke about something like this?..)
(…You should know that better than anyone..)
(…I can’t believe you’re actually able to laugh right now..)
…
“Ahhh~ No, it’s nothing. I’m just a little surprised.”
“… That potion was just an experiment. He/She probably won’t be able to handle it.”
“At first, it will make him/her feel relaxed and comfortable…”
…
(…So?..)
(…Why did you even create that potion?..)
(…I really don’t understand what’s wrong with your brain!..)
(…Isn’t sealing him/her inside this “world” enough for you?!..)
(…Did you have to insist on giving him/her a physical “body”?!..)
…
“Just… to ensure there are no mistakes.”
“One should always prepare a backup plan, you see—”
…
(…Thanks a lot for that unnecessary gesture..)
(…Because of this..)
(…The calamity is about to descend once again..)
(…You’d better figure out the solution within the shortest possible time..)
(…Otherwise, you know what will happen..)
…
“Understood, this ‘world’ will be destroyed because of it…”
“Then I’ll try my best to—”
…
(…No, you must..)
(…I will keep an eye on him/her..)
(…And before ‘that’ happens..)
(…I will also make sure the situation doesn’t escalate into something too serious..)
(…As for you..)
(…Stay put right here, and don’t go anywhere..)
(…And don’t you dare touch that small knife either..)
…
…..
“Hehehe… cough! Pfft! Hah…”
When I came to my senses, I realized I was grinning for no apparent reason. I hurriedly tried to stop, but ended up choking on the saliva that had pooled in my mouth…
Panicking, I patted my chest, coughed heavily a few times, then shook my head. I finally managed to calm down.
The muscles in my cheeks were twitching, and the auditory hallucinations in my ears were getting worse… By the time I truly snapped back to reality, my stomach was already in complete turmoil, churning violently.
Forced to open my mouth wide towards the wall, I emptied the dinner I hadn’t managed to digest an hour ago. The hem of my skirt got stained with the filth… After making a complete mess of myself, I finally stopped. But my body was so weak it wouldn’t stop trembling, and my body temperature was dropping rapidly. All I could do was slump to the ground.
(—My son… My little ray of sunshine…)
I scratched the back of my ear, trying to confirm if this auditory hallucination was coming from outside… but it wasn’t—
(—No matter what… You have to be okay…)
This voice, the tone of these words… it was familiar, but—
(—Please… Just be yourself…)
That word, that term… how should I address them—
(—No, no, no!! Waaah…)
Dad? Mom?!
(—Dad? Mom?…)
My eyes flew wide open. My hands contorted as I clawed at my face, but I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from drooping or the tears from falling… I remembered that monster’s appearance all too clearly… If only I had called the police back then, if only I had been a little faster… this tragedy, and even my own tragedy, would never have happened—
“Kuaah! Wuwu…” I coughed heavily, then slammed my head forward. I reached up, touched my lips, and brought my hand in front of my eyes— blood? Shifting my gaze from my hand, I saw the ground, my skirt, my tights, all stained with fresh, red blood… Was I coughing up blood? Or was I just so furious at myself that I coughed blood?
‘(Unrecognizable, indescribable sounds)‘
Suddenly, a sound I had never heard before, yet felt strangely familiar and easily identifiable, entered my ears. I understood it was the noise of some kind of beast feeding…
The sound came from a deserted alleyway. Looking in from the outside, it seemed dark inside, making it hard to see clearly.
Leaning against the wall, I propped up my weakened body, mustered my courage, and stumbled step by step towards it. Honestly, in my current state, I couldn’t fight anyone. Forcibly switching modes would only overload my body.
To satisfy a moment’s curiosity, just taking a little look shouldn’t hurt, right? Thinking this, I had already reached the alley’s entrance. All that was left was to peer inside.
‘…’
What if I witness something terrible…? Well! I’ve come this far. In for a penny, in for a pound.
I grabbed the edge of the wall and slowly stretched my head out—
“…”
I froze. I was completely frozen.
‘Grrruohhh (roaring while chewing)*’
Not too far inside the alley, there was a “person” that could only be described as a mass of flesh. The upper part resembled a human torso, but the lower part was pure flesh, and it seemed its entire body was covered in spiked tentacles… It was in the middle of enjoying a certain kind of “delicacy,” skewering it with its tentacles and shoving it into its massive maw.
As its upper and lower jaws clashed together, it paused… A monster of this type shouldn’t be here…
My hands flew to cover my mouth and nose. Goosebumps erupted all over my body. I turned to run, but my legs wouldn’t obey… Why was I so terrified, my mind so oppressed, breeding such boundless fear and revulsion?
I desperately fought the urge to vomit, because if I made a sound now, I’d probably be torn to pieces—
‘Grruehh (roar)*’
Sensing movement to my left, I darted my gaze sideways, only to lock eyes with a man. I was so startled I instantly collapsed backward…
“Ugh… ugh…“
“Are you okay?! I didn’t mean to scare you.”
I struggled with all my might to shout and make this man shut up, but the words got stuck in my throat— and then, what I feared so much it would give me nightmares, happened.
“Do you need—”
Before he could finish, the man’s head was pierced by a crimson spike that shot out from the alley. His seven orifices were crammed with wildly writhing tentacles, and then he was violently dragged inside.
At the same time, the frantic sounds of feeding echoed from the alley. I could even see his brain matter scattered in front of me—
Dead? Just like that? Was that… his brain?
Everything my eyes saw narrated the brutal truth… My ears were filled with the sounds of flesh being chopped and devoured. It reminded me of a Japanese movie called Parasyte, where creatures occupy human bodies to hunt for food, but seeing it now…
As expected, seeing it in person is far more horrifying.
I wanted to run, but my legs trembled uncontrollably and I was still slumped on the ground. The warmth leaving my body had also robbed me of any ability to move.
Was this the end?
‘Gruh… (roaring and sniffing)*’
That monster had probably realized there was still another one outside that hadn’t been dealt with… Was this really it? Was I going to end like this? I… I…
“Wuwu! Wuwuwu… wuaaaa… Aelf, Aleck, Lady Clarroy… I miss you all so much… Mom, Dad, I miss you so much… wuwuwuwu kuaaaaa…“
The tears wouldn’t stop…
What was left was regret and apology…
“Aelf, Aleck, I promised you… wuwu… to take you home… but now, I can’t anymore. I’ve reached the terminal station early. It seems Death is waving at me…”
I fell silent, closing my eyes, waiting for the moment everything returns to zero—
“Isn’t it a bit too early to throw in the towel, Miss Tsumori?” That voice… it was her.
Don’t come over here…
Hearing that voice, I mustered all my strength to get up. Steadying myself for a moment, I noticed the monster had crawled out… I didn’t want to describe it anymore, just thinking about it made me nauseous… The monster noticed me too, opened its massive maw wide, and then thrust its tentacles towards me. In my physical condition, even moving was difficult, let alone dodging.
“Kuaah!” The tentacle pierced through my left shoulder and slammed me against the wall… Luckily, it seemed it had different attack methods for different body parts, as my arm wasn’t flooded with tiny, flesh-eating tentacles.
Stimulated by the pain, I “pulled away” from the spiked tentacle, clutching my wounded arm. I looked around, trying to locate the source of that voice…
‘Grruehhh!! (hostile roar)*’
A flash of light before my chest…
For some reason, I felt incredibly irritated. Even the blood now boiling within me no longer cared about consequences.
“You… are in the way. As expected… you should just die. Let me grant you the mercy known as pain.”
‘Grruehhh!!! (hostile but slightly excited roar)*’
Leaping up, I dodged a violent blow, reached out, and threw a strip of cyan cloth towards it, binding it tightly. I yanked it backward hard. Turning, I evaded its charge, released the cloth, and infused azure light particles into the ground… After a blood-curdling, terrifying scream, I watched the monster, now lifeless amidst the deep blue blades, and only then withdrew all my energy.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down, then slumped to the ground again.
“Huff, huff… I did it. I conquered my inner fear. I actually did it. From now on, I don’t have to be afraid anymore…”
I closed my eyes slightly, and sure enough, drowsiness washed over me. But in that moment just before my eyes shut completely, I saw her…
Had this chain of cause and effect finally begun?
I asked myself, and laughed from the bottom of my heart—
Then bring it on, as fiercely as possible…
