Since humans started using fire, they have been distinguished from other beasts.
By using fire to cook food, the instances of dying from eating something wrong decreased, and they expanded the scope of time they could enjoy by brightening the night, allowing them to protect their bodies from enemies.
Thus, humans have added somewhat excessive interpretations regarding fire.
Especially in the realm of religion, fire had various meanings.
It’s the wrath of God and the cleansing flame that washes away impurities.
Sometimes an object of reverence, and other times an object of fear.
In a way, it may be that all those perspectives were correct.
“……Ah….”
Gripping her shoulder, which was blood flowing out, Kagami looked up while kneeling on the ground.
There wasn’t any meaning in that action. The wound hurt, and she lost strength in her legs. It was simply a powerless action of sitting down.
She knew it was a shameful thing.
She thought she had become accustomed to pain.
“Who are you…?”
But for a moment, Kagami was shocked enough to forget that pain.
Looking up at the one holding a sword, standing with their body engulfed in flames and not yet turned to ash.
Though it was unintentional, ironically, Kagami’s appearance at that moment was the perfect image to greet such a sight.
The grotesquely twisted creature, which had threatened all living things around just a moment ago, was now half-destroyed.
The skin, which had barely been visible, was regaining its color as it burned in the blue flames. No, since it was somewhere between material and immaterial, it might be more accurate to say it lost its color due to being burnt.
A scream that pierced the ears was heard. It was the sound it made. It was flailing while its whole body was engulfed in flames.
The tentacles stretched high into the sky, writhing like a whip.
“Run away!”
Someone shouted that.
“If you get hit, you’ll die—Ugh!”
The tentacle moved toward where the shout came from, and again, the light flickered. A smell, like something burning, filled the air, and yellow blood splattered into the air.
Whoosh, whoosh.
Kurosawa Koto Ne walked, lightly shaking the sword in her hand.
As if she had gone out for a picnic, her steps were too cheerful.
The smile on her face seemed to imply she was about to hum a tune, but it was a face that Kagami didn’t recognize.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t smiling, but rather, unlike the smile that had a darker edge of not being able to let go of something, this one was purely enjoying the situation of her body being on fire.
No, was she really burning?
A torch burns. Fire ignites it, and it shines brightly around.
But it’s hard to imagine that torch being extinguished.
It was made for that purpose in the first place, and therefore, the fire continues to burn for a long time.
One day, it will go cold once its use is done, but that “thing” in front of her looked like that.
There was no sound. Even while smiling, it made no noise, and it didn’t seem to have the intention to communicate anything.
It was just a face that seemed to ponder how to play with the flailing toy in front of it.
“Koto Ne! Koto Ne!”
As Koko tried to run towards that direction, Kagami instinctively reached out to grab her arm.
Koko looked down at Kagami with wide eyes.
Kagami herself was surprised by her action.
“No.”
However, when she said that, it was less of a shock than she would have expected.
“If you go there, not now…”
Words broke and flowed out sporadically, unfinished.
What was she trying to say? Kagami was struggling to sort out her mind while letting those words spill.
“That isn’t Koto Ne. The person you know.”
Finally, she managed to produce those words.
Yes.
That wasn’t Koto Ne. That was not the entity known as Kurosawa Koto Ne. It was something borrowed from her body, something that existed beyond human understanding.
What was that?
What is that?
That was something with the flesh and blood of a human—Kurosawa Koto Ne’s body.
No, it wasn’t. There was a more fundamental answer. It couldn’t just be Kurosawa Koto Ne’s. That body was—
That body—that was, yes, a vessel.
Kagami had been trying to create a vessel. For Kurosawa’s tragic wish, she had created something unbroken several times following her sister Kosuzu’s orders.
“That is…”
Every time she tried to say a word, that truth slowly, but clearly surfaced from deep within.
If that was a vessel, then what being occupied it?
Right, originally it was supposed to be used ‘that way,’ then what was the entity known as Kurosawa Koto Ne that was there?
Calling herself Koto Ne, living here as if she were alive?
“No!”
With that shout, Kagami’s view returned as it originally was. Before she knew it, the hand that had been tightly gripping had been wrenched away by Koko.
“No! That’s Koto Ne!”
Only after hearing those words did Kagami realize belatedly.
Ah, I see.
If the soul residing in that body wasn’t originally a god, then that being was just existing as it wished.
Just like every other person.
Simply as an existence known as Kurosawa Koto Ne.
“Koto Ne!”
“No.”
Kagami again grabbed Koko’s arm. Koko looked back at Kagami. But Kagami didn’t back down.
“That is, for now, the being occupying that body is a different being.”
A scream was heard. It wasn’t a human scream. The sound of bones and flesh being pierced by metal was heard, along with rustling. The tentacles flailed in the air. Something that had fallen on the ground moved violently, like freshly cut tentacles, before its movements slowed down.
“If you go now, you’ll be burned too. And maybe, you won’t be able to endure that fire.”
“……”
Koko’s expression darkened. Her hair looked stiff and hardened.
Kagami struggled to remain calm as she spoke.
“If you die, Koto Ne will be very heartbroken when she returns.”
Koko’s face softened just a bit.
That was the one thing she didn’t want to see.
Kagami couldn’t understand how the two had formed this bond. All she saw were the writhing remnants that were awkwardly trying to imitate a person.
But at least,
“So, for now, let’s wait. I’m sure she will come back.”
There was no certainty.
But it felt like this moment wasn’t the end.
For some reason, there was no evidence, but it was clear that “that thing” was enjoying the moment.
If Koto Ne were to die, and if that body disappeared, “that thing” would no longer be able to enjoy itself.
For the first time, a question about everything they had done arose.
All the sounds around outside of the monster’s scream faded away.
The cries of the injured from beyond, the sounds of other monsters crawling across the ground being dealt with in some way, the sound of glass breaking, and something flying and hitting.
None of those sounds came now.
Just trembling while listening to the sound of a dying monster that was neither human nor monster.
“……Ugh.”
Koko seemed to have managed to understand Kagami’s words.
It seemed she realized that no matter how much she rushed to die there, it would only make “that thing” happy.
The movements of the monster came to a complete stop.
As if it was dead.
No, it must be dead.
“……”
The thudding sound stopped.
It quietly stood still, hardly able to catch its breath before glancing towards Kagami and Koko.
And it walked slowly toward Kagami again.
“……”
Kagami unintentionally gripped Koko’s arm tightly, staring blankly at that dancing blue flame.
With a carefree expression as if it had played nicely, the blue flames started to fade.
It didn’t look like it was hurt. Except for the wrist continuously bleeding, its condition seemed much better than before.
That might be because everything else on its body burnt away and disappeared.
As soon as the fire went out, Koto Ne staggered and fell to the side.
Koko immediately rushed out this time. Catching Koto Ne gently before she fell over, Koko carefully laid her down and shouted.
“Koto Ne, are you okay!?”
Koko shouted.
“……”
Koto Ne’s face contorted. She was gritting her teeth as if she was holding something back, trembling didn’t seem to be a good sign.
“I’m… fine.”
Despite that, Koto Ne responded.
“It’s all over.”
Kagami said this, not knowing why she was saying it.
“It’s all over, so let’s go back.”
She hadn’t forgotten why they had come in the first place.
But in her current state, searching for anything was impossible.
Moreover, she had no idea how many of Kosuzu’s group were still around.
And the ones over there.
Kagami knew about the church’s group.
Given the situation, they were overwhelmingly at a disadvantage. She didn’t know how they had found their way here, but their numbers were certainly greater.
Kagami had measures against yōkai, but she had no strategies against humans. If they were government officials, she might have tried to negotiate somehow—
“Wait!”
Shouting from the other side could be heard.
The sound of hurried steps came, and four people who had been waiting below rushed in front of the fallen Koto Ne and Koko, blocking Kagami.
“Hey, step back! If you come, you’ll die!”
The oldest man said that while taking out a knife.
Though short, it was not a kitchen knife type; it was a true sword made solely for stabbing people. There were no engravings or decorations on the sheath or the grip.
Others also pulled out similar weapons from their bodies.
Tension was evident on their faces. No matter how tough they were, a situation like this wasn’t common for them.
Even in the middle of winter, the sweat was obvious on their foreheads, and Kagami thought it wasn’t merely from running up the mountain.
From the other side, a rustle, the sound of something being drawn could be heard.
“……It’s over, let’s go home.”
Koko sobbed and said. In a situation like this, her usually stiff hair had lost its strength and hung limp. Her main focus now seemed solely on Koto Ne.
“It’s not over…”
“No, it’s over. Right now.”
Kagami said firmly as she stood up.
And she went towards the men.
She was unarmed, but at least since she had gotten this far and faced them directly, she thought she had to do something.
“Wait, wait a minute.”
Someone over there seemed to have had a similar thought.
The one at the forefront was a girl. She didn’t seem to be much older than Koto Ne.
Or perhaps, that was just because Kagami knew Koto Ne’s age. Koto Ne had a slightly younger impression than other children of her age. If they had seen her for the first time, some might think she looked older than that.
Kagami recognized who this was. The cult group had a certain degree of influence. Although it hadn’t been long since they chose the path of “religion”, they certainly had enough resources to investigate what was happening in the school and what entities existed within.
Hagiwara Hana.
She was the girl who had been spotted entering the chapel several times.
“……”
Slowly, as if she had no intention of attacking, and with both hands up, she approached, looking directly at Kagami.
“That over there is—”
“Kurosawa Koto Ne.”
Kagami interrupted before she could finish.
Just as she had quite a few times today, she didn’t quite know why she did that.
Even though Kagami knew what kind of being Kurosawa Koto Ne was, for some reason, she felt uneasy when others referred to her as “not Koto Ne.”
…Since Kosuzu was her sister, it seems there were some similarities too. One certainty was that they both were undeniably self-centered. A fact Kagami didn’t want to admit.
“That ‘girl’ is called Kurosawa Koto Ne.”
As if she were saying something that the other party already knew, Kagami spoke slowly in a deliberate tone.
Just like when she first met ‘Kurosawa Koto Ne’.
“……I know that.”
Hagiwara Hana said.
“But, the appearance just a moment ago—surely…”
“……”
Kagami said nothing.
She simply stood there with a smile on her lips.
All the other church members, aside from Hagiwara, were holding swords. Strangely, not simply ‘holding’ them, but each had one wedged between their fingers, forming a shape like a claw.
“We know the reason you all have come here today.”
Kagami said.
“Surely, you’ve come to catch a yōkai.”
“……”
“I don’t know why you, who believe in God, desire that. Don’t you think reading another’s thoughts goes against free will?”
“……We just wanted to find it before someone else could use it.”
“Is that so?”
Kagami tilted her head.
“If that’s the case, there wouldn’t be a reason for us to be in opposition. We have also come to eliminate it. Before anyone else can use it.”
“……”
How could they believe that?
That was the face they wore.
Of course, that was only natural. Reading someone else’s thoughts was an unbelievably enticing idea.
“The reason you were holding your swords from the beginning. I took out talismans as well. To thoroughly exorcise it before it falls into other hands.”
“Not just capturing it?”
“Regrettably, our church is weaker than yours. Even if we have it, we aren’t confident that it won’t be taken from us.”
That was sincere.
If she had been confident in perfectly locking it away, Kagami might have made a different choice.
“……”
Should she believe it or not?
In the moment the girl sank into thought, a voice came from behind.
“Still, we have to take care of this here!”
Whoever it was didn’t matter.
“It’s a seed of heresy! Just a moment ago too!”
“That’s right! It’s now or never!”
Murmurs.
After the first voice was heard, voices agreeing with that statement overlapped one after another. Soon, those voices were ringing out from all the surviving humans over there.
They must be killed. It must be dealt with properly.
They can’t let something twisted go against the will of God and dirty this world.
…They were similar sentiments.
“Be quiet!”
Hagiwara yelled, but it didn’t have much effect.
“You understand, right?”
Kagami tried her best to maintain a calm demeanor as she spoke.
“You understand… that the being known as Kurosawa Koto Ne is just an innocent little girl.”
A hiss like a viper!
Someone shouted like that.
Gradually, their fervor was growing. Even in the frigid winter, something from the other side seemed to emerge, a sense of increasing emotion could be felt.
“For the will of God!”
The will of God, eh.
That was a meaning far removed from Kagami.
In many ways.
“Be quiet! We are in the middle of a conversation! Don’t tell me, you mean to kill that girl right now? Are you out of your mind?”
Hagiwara shouted. Yet, she didn’t seem to think her words would be taken seriously.
“Kagami.”
A man from Yamashita’s side said that, stepping back closer to Kagami. The other three did likewise.
The possibility of dialogue was slowly closing.
“……”
Kagami reached into her pocket and pulled out a talisman.
…It wouldn’t work on humans. That fire did not burn this side’s material.
But at least, just as a distraction. If they didn’t properly understand our methods, then maybe just a little while—
“Not yet.”
But as Kagami set her mind to that, a sharp voice interrupted.
“Not yet; it’s not over.”
Breathless, Koto Ne was speaking.
Kagami turned around.
“Koto Ne!”
Koko shouted anxiously, but Koto Ne, with a pale face, was trying to stand.
“Right now—”
“No.”
Koto Ne frowned at Kagami’s words.
That wasn’t a face of someone willing to sacrifice herself.
It was a look of someone being faced with something they absolutely didn’t want to do but had no choice in the situation. It definitely wasn’t a saint’s expression.
And because of that, Kagami could immediately understand Koto Ne’s words.
The gaze moved.
Koto Ne’s wrist was still dripping blood.
The red blade still retained its form completely.
That’s right.
Koto Ne’s words were ‘literally’ true.
Nothing had ended.
This situation was just—
Bang.
From far away, a strange sound was heard.
An almost unheard-of sound in this country, one that you might have only heard in movies or dramas.
Everyone’s gaze turned in that direction.
From beyond, a scream was heard. Again, a bang, bang, bang, a series of sounds followed.
With a crack, a heavy something broke and fell—
Thud.
The ground shook.
“……It’s not over. If we stay like this we’ll all die.”
Koto Ne muttered, her face contorted in fear of being crushed.
*
To somehow ignore the terrible pain, I continued to turn my head.
If I couldn’t escape the burning pain, I had to at least direct my mind elsewhere.
And in that thought, one thing emerged from deep in my mind.
Wheatley.
The name of that monster.
Wheatley.
Wheatley…
…Ah.
I finally remembered.
That’s right.
It was like that.
In the Dunwich horror, it wasn’t just one person carrying the blood of the outsiders.
The siblings had received that blood together.
One was a big, hideous-looking human.
The other was—
With a crackle.
The sound of wood breaking could be heard.
…Yes. It was like that.
The other was a gigantic monster.
Even by crawling, the trees of the forest would fall, threatening the world with an existence that drained blood until cows withered.
“……”
The faces of those who had just been shouting for my death became hard and rigid with fear of death again.
It wasn’t particularly refreshing.
Because right now, I was also part of that group.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.