When a person gets cornered, it really spirals into a deep depression. Even the things I usually do well start to fall apart, and things that didn’t work out before only get worse.
And usually, that depression comes from the realization that “there’s nothing I can do.”
“Uuu….”
And when that kind of depression starts to gnaw at the people around me, it adds an extra layer of guilt, creating the perfect storm. A dragon of depression sits slouched in front of me, drooling, waiting for me to collapse.
This feeling, it’s been a while.
Ever since I came to this world, I haven’t felt this way for quite some time. Yeah. It was that way from the moment I first arrived.
In this world, I wasn’t really myself from the original world, so I could feel a bit liberated. I was already used to being alone.
Having lost everything, growing more and more depressed, and slowly isolating myself to avoid gnawing on those around me—unlike the me from my original world, I thought I was moving in the opposite direction here.
I found wonderful people who would never let me be alone.
But I have nothing I can do for them.
That kept dragging my mood down, deeper, and deeper.
“Over here.”
“…Huh?”
When I lifted my head at Kagami’s voice, I saw Kagami offering me something.
In her hand was chocolate.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a snack.”
“…”
I looked up at Kagami in disbelief as her hand moved again.
“Are you not going to eat it?”
I stayed silent for a moment before accepting the chocolate from Kagami’s hand.
It wasn’t anything fancy, really. I wasn’t sure which brand it was from. Just a chocolate, something that had the same famous letters on it, wrapped in transparent plastic. Well, it looked a bit different from that chocolate.
But it tasted good.
The sweet and cheap chocolate taste actually made me feel a bit more at ease.
The depression didn’t completely vanish, though.
Kagami took out another one from her pocket and gave it to Koko.
“Uuu….”
Koko, who had been staring at the chocolate for a moment, handed it over to me.
“Aren’t you going to eat it?”
“I’m not hungry. You eat it, Koto Ne.”
“…”
Unsure of what to do, I took it and ate it anyway. I figured Koko wouldn’t eat it if I didn’t.
“Don’t cut your wrist yet.”
Kagami said.
“If you’re already bleeding, that’s when the real problems will start. It won’t be too late to react once we hear there’s trouble in this building.”
While saying that, Kagami picked up a small handbag she had placed at her feet.
Is the mirror from last time in there?
I slowly let the chocolate melt in my mouth and calmed myself down.
Right, up until now, I hadn’t done anything, but maybe the situation itself is better than the original plot.
Isn’t that right? I don’t know what kind of situation the original Kurosawa Koto Ne was in, but the Hyakki Yagyō itself happened all over Tokyo.
If it was really because of the existence of Koto Ne and if Kosuzu initiated the incident solely to catch her, then it might be better that the situation is clearly defined like it is now.
I can fight too.
A few questions remain. Why didn’t they target the place I originally lived when they knew it? Why did they leak information first, knowing that it would cause the government to act?
…Let’s just ask Kosuzu directly after we fight.
“It seems like your mood has improved a little.”
“…Yeah.”
“Good.”
Kagami didn’t bother adding any further comments to that.
That was a bit reassuring.
“Ah… ah…”
As I collected myself and looked at the situation, it actually seemed a bit funny.
What was it called again? I have no idea which tree it comes from or if it’s just a remnant of such, but it looks terribly precious.
If the tree was alive, there wouldn’t be any reason to treat it so preciously. After all, the Metasequoia was thought to be extinct at one point but was discovered in a colony in China, and eventually exported and planted as street trees everywhere.
It might either not be there at all or even if it is, it may not grow anymore.
Of course, the uncle had a very pained expression seeing the tree being cut.
“It shouldn’t matter since everything was ours.”
“I’m sad about things I couldn’t have. If someone blows up cultural heritage I don’t have, isn’t that sad?”
Kagami merely shrugged at that remark.
Well, at least it doesn’t seem like the uncle has the guts to act against the government alone. Ultimately, Kagami ground all that wood into amulets.
“I’ll take this talisman.”
Kagami said as she held onto the talisman.
“And I’ll give a few to the people downstairs.”
“…What about me?”
“Didn’t you hear earlier? I plan on avoiding the doppelganger.”
“Burning my body won’t necessarily kill me.”
“…”
Kagami stared at me intently, and I just shrugged.
“So… now we just wait for the opponent to come?”
“Exactly. And even if they do, getting up here is another matter.”
“…True.”
We were at the very top after all.
“From now on—”
Just as Kagami was about to continue speaking.
Blink.
The lights in the room flickered.
Everyone in the room looked up at the lights.
Blink. Blink.
The lights blinked like that and then went completely out.
The room wasn’t entirely engulfed in darkness. A little light from the city still seeped in through the small window.
But just because that was the case doesn’t mean it was safe here.
“The power was probably cut by the government.”
Kagami said while still looking up at the now dark lights.
“They wouldn’t let the opponent use the elevator.”
With those words, there was a brief silence.
This building is a hotel. It looks sleek from the outside. Aside from this top floor, it was a luxurious hotel.
So even if a fight erupted downstairs, there wouldn’t be any noise that reaches us up here.
“Let’s get ready.”
Kagami lifted her bag.
Koko also stood up from her seat.
“Um? What’s going on right now…”
The uncle said, but sadly no one answered him.
Everyone was focused on the door, straining to listen.
…Nirlas’s voice still isn’t heard. I haven’t cut my wrist either.
I wonder if it would be heard if I did cut it?
Somehow, if it were Nirlas—
*
“Ah, hey…!”
Yuka, who was sitting in the passenger seat, pointed outside and shouted.
It was just over a week since the New Year. In fact, it was only ten days since Christmas.
Tokyo still held onto the festival atmosphere of the end of the year and the beginning of the new year.
But amidst all that, there was one building where all the lights had gone out. If it hadn’t been lit from the beginning, you might not notice it unless you looked closely, but the sudden blackout of the previously lit building looked ominous.
Moreover, people were containing the area near the building. It seemed a few spectators had gathered, but heavily armed individuals were controlling the streets.
Something had already happened.
Realizing that, Yuka shouted.
“Grandpa!”
“Yeah.”
Yuka undid her seatbelt, and as she unwrapped the cloth around her sword, Grandpa nodded and stepped on the gas.
Skid.
The car lurched violently and I felt my body lift slightly.
A few people blocking the street jumped out of the way in fright. Slammed against one of the barricades, the van carrying Grandpa, Yuka, and Yuka’s father half made it inside the scene.
Thud. As Yuka balanced herself on the glove box with one hand and extended her arm to stabilize her body, as soon as the car stopped, she opened the door and jumped outside.
“Hey!”
Someone yelled at the back of Yuka’s head, but she didn’t look back.
Inside, Koto Ne was at the very top. And for some reason, a force was climbing up to reach Koto Ne.
Swish.
I drew my sword from its scabbard. The streetlights illuminated the blade of Yuka’s nameless sword.
As soon as she got out of the car, Yuka felt the faint smell of iron.
Followed by a bad smell wafting in the air.
It was a smell hard to get used to, a smell she had given up on acclimatizing to.
Thud.
The door closed, and Grandpa’s footsteps approached behind Yuka.
Click.
Yuka turned on the flashlight that she had tucked into her coat pocket on the left side of her chest.
As Yuka walked forward, the light from the flashlight hanging from her chest illuminated the front.
It was red.
There was even a slightly lighter shade.
Something was crawling inside.
There was a rustling sound behind her. It must be Grandpa pulling out a talisman.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
Grandpa murmured, and Yuka dashed forward.
In fact, the entrance itself was also blocked by barricades. Besides what the police had blocked from the outside, it seemed like furniture was piled up from the inside as if trying to keep something from getting in… though the glass doors and the walls next to them were all regular glass, so the attempts were pitifully futile.
Couldn’t they have thought to come dashing through the main entrance? Or was it just civilians working in the hotel who, panicked, piled things up without respect? Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter now since Yuka’s family had come crashing through in their van.
A person in red clothing was lying on the floor. It seemed like a hotel uniform. His belly was split open, but his face was relatively intact, frozen in a last expression of despair.
“…Those government types.”
At Grandpa’s voice,
Grrk…?
What had been devouring his belly stood up.
Crack.
A bizarre, distorted mass of flesh turned to look at Yuka without waiting.
Without hesitation, Yuka swung her sword.
Yellow liquid, akin to a scab, splattered along with dark red liquid similar to human blood. It smelled repulsive.
That was just the beginning; things that seemed to have blended into the darkness began to rise.
“…Ah.”
Yuka murmured.
“I had thought it was made using humans last time I saw it.”
“They look like they’re imitating humans.”
An amorphous creature made of semi-transparent melted human flesh began to stir slowly, taking shape.
But that didn’t mean it looked truly human. Its eyes still bulged out like a snail’s, and its skin was translucent enough to see the bones inside. Were those the bones of the victims?
A chill ran down her spine. In both senses. One from Yuka’s own veins, the other from sheer repulsion.
Thud.
And then an arrow pierced through the head of that thing.
Fwoosh.
Blue flames erupted.
“…!”
It writhed, emitting a sound that couldn’t possibly be human.
“If we leave it like this, soon we won’t be able to distinguish between humans and them.”
From the back, she heard her father’s voice, and with a swish, a sound like strumming a bowstring echoed along with a tightening pull.
“Then, we need to take it down early.”
Yuka responded.
Fwoosh.
This time, flames rose from the staircase leading upstairs. The color was slightly different. The flames there were much paler. As if they didn’t belong to this world.
Gunshots followed, and someone screamed.
“Let’s go.”
Yuka said, propelling herself forward.
Darkness was no longer an issue. The blue flames were flickering all around.
If she could wipe out all the enemies like this…
Yuka thought while slashing through the rushing foes.
Would Koto Ne be okay? Would she be able to live a normal life without being threatened anymore?
In the back of her mind, a response echoed, probably it would end here, if the leader was still alive, those monsters would reappear over and over.
She could only cut down as many as possible to make it difficult for them to inflict suffering.
The government seemed to think that if Koto Ne died, everything would end, considering that possibility.
“No.”
Yuka could answer firmly.
It’s better to fight countless times rather than sacrificing a single child who wants to live to achieve peace.
…
She knew that was a selfish judgment.
If the opponent weren’t ‘Koto Ne,’ a friend she valued, Yuka would have been shaken just by looking at the person who had died on the first floor earlier.
*
—Nirlas didn’t say a word.
I didn’t bother asking anything. I felt like I wouldn’t get a proper answer even if I did.
More than anything, I had a feeling that if I asked anything here, Nirlas would try to break my resolve. It was something he seemed to enjoy.
But still, it felt odd.
Nirlas usually talks about various things without me asking when it’s exciting. Is this situation, unlike Nirlas, not an interesting one?
My heart raced. Not knowing what lay ahead was a terrifying thing. Even if I got through this situation safely, I didn’t know the follow-up story at all.
…Precious beings could disappear somewhere without me knowing.
Having experienced that in a previous life, I thought everyone who had made it this far would be safe—
Bang. Bang.
Gunfire was much louder than I had anticipated.
It was a fact I already knew. I had been to the military after all. The gunshots during training were much louder than I had imagined before.
But all the guns people were holding now were equipped with silencers. Perhaps because we were in the city center, they seemed to have prepared for it.
Yet still, it didn’t completely cover up the sound of the slowly approaching gunfire. It wasn’t the ‘whoosh’ I had seen in movies, just a little less sharp than the gunshots I had once known; there was not much change in how ‘loud’ it was.
My wrist hurt for no reason.
The blood draining from my wrist seemed to increase as my heart raced.
“Shoot, shoot!”
I heard voices yelling from beyond the door, along with more gunfire. Fwoosh, a strong roaring sound followed.
I lifted my blade.
Bam!
The door burst open, and people came pouring in. Then the door closed again.
“Where are the enemies?”
“More than I thought, there are a lot more!”
“Damn it. I thought we had dealt with a lot last time.”
“…”
Miura glanced toward Kagami.
“Could it be that the corpses were sacrificed in the ritual?”
“Even if it was because of a ritual, at least it wasn’t of the ‘that kind’ of ritual. …I think the female corpses seemed to have some experience giving birth, didn’t they?”
Miura nodded.
And no one spoke after that.
Kagami’s question held too many meanings.
“…There are various ways for a religion to make death not scary. Kosuzu’s sect is even more so. Showing phenomena that are not of this world while empowering them. Then persuading them that ‘even if they die, I’ll bring them back.’”
“When everything is over, when the boundary between life and death breaks, the deceased will return.”
Miura mumbled, as if he knew something.
“…And probably at the apex of that process is the head of the Kurosawa family.”
Kozuzu.
“The eternal ruler of a world without death. And those that climbed high following that ruler.”
“…”
And Kurozawa Koto Ne would probably be a necessary existence in that process. A being needed for the existence from ‘that world’ to exert power completely on this side.
Like an instrument held in the hands of a performer, capable of playing the desired sound.
“Do you not agree with that?”
Kagami glanced at me briefly.
“Don’t you think it’s unrealistic? A religion is useful because there are unachievable goals.”
“…”
That was a typical Kagami reply, and the people in the room forgot their tension and all looked in this direction.
“…At least, thank you for the information.”
Miura responded, passing on Kagami’s words like that.
As we listened to that conversation, I suddenly realized the gunfire had stopped.
The screams were still heard. Something burning strongly was there too.
But amidst that, there was one additional sound.
A sound like something slicing while rustling. Gasping breaths were heard.
Click.
The doorknob turned.
As everyone tensed, the locked door opened very easily.
And.
“…If you want to hide people at the top of the building…”
Yuka, covered in sweat, said as she opened the door.
“…At least move the elevator.”
Yuka and I made eye contact, and she smiled a bit.
“…”
I felt drained.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one feeling that way. Everyone relaxed their tension a bit.
“What about those outside?”
“They probably haven’t all been dealt with yet. We took the fastest route here.”
Yuka said, shaking the blood off her sword.
Phew. Yuka lightly exhaled and remarked.
“But I’ve slashed enough to call in a few more people, and to set up defenses slowly. It seemed like the monsters were thinking in a similar way as us.”
Then she looked at me and smiled again. Her hair was sticking to her forehead due to sweat, and her body was splattered with blood and disgusting things, but she didn’t look disheveled at all.
“Well then, let’s wrap things up for today—”
Beep!
Just as Yuka was about to speak, someone’s phone suddenly rang.
“…Sorry.”
Kagami, seemingly apologizing for ruining the atmosphere, took out her phone.
I caught a glimpse of the screen from my side.
It said “Yamashita Yohei.”
“…Yes.”
Kagami’s eyes widened when she answered the call.
“From the mansion?”
“Why?”
I asked without thinking.
“What’s happening?”
“…Understood. First, find a safe place. If you can get outside the mansion— Is that so? Then please secure what I left with you last time. Yes.”
“Kagami?”
Kagami’s gaze turned back to me.
Her expression was somewhat perplexed, but her voice remained calm.
Kagami squeezed her handbag tightly as she spoke.
“There should be a mirror in that room. Please… pass it to Yuuki.”
“…”
Wasn’t what was in the handbag a mirror?
“…Yes. No, I’m sure it is.”
Kagami’s eyes sharpened slightly.
“If you think about who Yuuki’s mother is, it would be quite possible. Buy some time. We’re coming.”
Kagami momentarily closed her eyes, then opened them again.
And with glowing eyes in the darkness, she said:
“Now I’ll explain how to proceed.”
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