Volume 3 - CH 4.6

My stomach churned, and the child groaned, but there was no sign of her coming out. Panic prevailed over fear and repulsion. She was laughing deep in my guts, having no intention of showing herself.

I was powerless on my own. But now was not the time to beat myself up. Just as I was about to run, the woman appeared through a hole in the wall. She looked at the direction the shadow went, narrowing her eyes at the sound of Higasa screaming. But that was all. She glanced to the side, not even smiling.

Our eyes met.

A chill ran through my whole body. But she turned her face away and followed Higasa. As she walked briskly, the black figure behind her moved.

The man with her, lying low the whole time, started walking toward me.

I should have started running right away. But it was too late for regrets. I broke into a run. I opened the back door and jumped inside. The sound of the walls collapsing echoed throughout the mansion. I could hear Higasa’s screams. I couldn’t think of any way out of this situation.

I was alone.

But I had to do something.

Footsteps pattered behind me as I dashed down the hallway. Bending low, I bit my lip. The man didn’t seem to be carrying any kind of projectile weapon, giving me relief. He was most likely the woman’s Tribute.

The woman was a powerful esper. I couldn’t possibly beat her head-on.

Before I reached the end of the hallway, I opened a random door and dove into what was a dining hall. I heaved a deep sigh. I needed to calm down for a moment. I needed to think. What do I do?

I thought I heard a snicker.

“Huh?”

I looked over my shoulder, but there was no way she would be here. But I also knew that if she were here, she would not even panic.

Laughing at the situation, she would shrug as she took a bite of her chocolate.

“I keep telling you, Odagiri-kun. Espers are too obsessed with their abilities. It’s ridiculous. Do you want to get dragged into their ways?”

I turned my head to the side. I felt a regal figure standing there. Dressed in a beautiful black dress, she continued with a bored look in her eyes.

“Do you remember what I said back at the Minase clan incident? If you pour water on paper, the writing will bleed, and if you burn it, it’s gone. Now the question is, Odagiri-kun, what if it’s a shadow? Where does it come from?”

She sounded like she was giving me a riddle. She wasn’t actually around, of course. I just knew she would say that.

“Where does it come… from?!”

I felt like I was electrocuted. I ran toward the storeroom.

Mayuzumi’s voice followed me. She was smiling.

“It’s a simple problem. Surely you can figure this one out.”

Thank you, Mayu-san. You’re right. It’s simple.

Even I could solve it.

The only question was: would I find what I needed?

Given the season, it might be gone. I pulled open the door to a small room at the far end of the corridor. I leaped inside and, praying, picked up the object I was looking for. It had weight; it wasn’t empty. Relieved, I turned to leave the room.

A blade was stuck to the wall right next to my cheek. I stared at it, stunned. It had come out of nowhere.

A knife. Apparently the man possessed throwing weapons. I stood up with my hands raised. I heard footsteps approaching. The man’s presence was awfully weak. I hated myself for being too slow.

I couldn’t hear Mayuzumi’s voice anymore.

What would she say if she were here?

“I don’t even have to think. I already know what she would say.”

She would make fun of my stupidity.

“Please stay where you are,” the man said in a deep voice.

The way he spoke, without inflection, was remarkably similar to the woman’s. I turned around to see the man looking at me, holding a knife. There was no emotion in his eyes. He was simply watching my every move. I doubt he was someone who could be persuaded.

But it was better than doing nothing. I couldn’t just give up here.

Because Higasa was counting on me.

“Can I ask you something?” I asked.

The man didn’t respond. But he didn’t tell me to keep quiet either.

I took a deep breath. “I don’t know what Asato said to you guys, but that lying fox is probably just duping you. He’s using you. You should stop, for your own good.”

The fox was not human. He wouldn’t join forces with anyone.

To him, humans were creatures to be deceived. Nothing more, nothing less.

The man could’ve dismissed my words as nonsense. He could’ve said that he already knew. But he didn’t say either. For a moment, agitation flashed across his expressionless face. His eyebrow rose ever so slightly.

“Asato?” There was a note of emotion in his voice. “We received word from the Minase cla—”

The mansion shook violently, the floor trembling like there was an earthquake. I heard something falling. A piercing scream came from the direction of the hall.

It was Higasa’s voice.

Something was off. Ignoring my gut feeling, I tightened my grip on the object. I ran past the man, who was frozen momentarily. The house shook again. A throwing knife, off target, hit me on the foot. I took out a cigarette from my chest pocket, put it in my mouth with an unsteady hand, and bit down hard. I almost dropped the object, but quickly recovered it with both hands. I shifted it to one hand, took out a lighter, and lit it, failing over and over. I sprinted down the hall, careful not to bite off the cigarette. Just as I grabbed the door, my ears caught the sound of something falling nearby. Screams came from above.

I immediately changed directions, heading straight for the end of the hallway. I ran up the staircase and jumped out into the outer corridor that surrounded the hall.

The hall had completely changed. The central staircase had disappeared, and several huge rubble lay on the wide floor. Higasa was holding on to the edge of the collapsed staircase. Barely able to support his own weight, he was trying desperately to climb up. The woman was standing before him. A grotesque dog was at her feet, its mouth closed like a loyal dog. Looking down at Higasa, she said something.

I opened the lid.

With a cry, I dumped its contents at the woman’s feet. The woman lifted her glassy eyes. Just before she moved her shadow, I flicked the cigarette that fell from my mouth with my finger.

A spark landed on the kerosene.

Flames erupted. I cheered despite myself; there was a high chance that it would not ignite. The woman’s shadow disappeared briefly, then changed shape under the light of the fire, reverting back to its human form. The woman backed away from the fire, granting me an opening. I threw the container at her, then helped Higasa up.

We had to escape. Regroup for now. Once the walls caught fire, the situation would change. But we had to move before the fire engulfed us. My thoughts were racing, but I couldn’t put them into words. I just shouted his name.

“Higasa-san!”

Successfully repositioning himself, Higasa rose to his feet. He jumped over the fire, rolling to this side, then got up quickly. He held something up to the woman left on the other side of the flames.

With both arms.

There was a pop. Something burst on the other side of the flames. The wall turned red, and a slushy substance scattered over the woman’s shadow.

I had seen it before.

Blood mixed with brain matter.

“…What?”

The woman collapsed, convulsing. Her shadow briefly took on the form of a roaring beast, then slowly crumbled until it stopped moving. Higasa turned around. A man was standing still behind us, stunned. He wasn’t looking at us. His eyes were on the fallen woman. His expressionless face contorted.

Tears welled in his eyes as he screamed, “Kasuga-sama!”

It must be the woman’s name. Drawing his knife, he sprinted toward Higasa.

Casually, Higasa pulled the trigger.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The man’s chest jerked, and he crumpled on the spot. Red flowed from his chest. The man’s body quivered, then stopped moving.

It all happened in an instant. A ridiculously short and dramatic act.

Everything seemed like a sick joke.