Ch.108Chapter 17. Above the Neck (4)

The reason any living creature fears something is because that something poses a significant threat to the survival of its species.

In the process of evolution, those who failed to avoid such threats died. Those who survived produced offspring, and among those offspring, some avoided threats while others did not.

After this process repeats countless times, the selected genes encode which things should be feared for better survival chances—ultimately increasing the species’ survival probability.

…Ghosts and spirits do exist. At least in this world.

Souls might exist too. After all, I’m here.

And yokai—

“Of course, few are born with such genes. Yokai don’t always cross from their world to the mortal realm.”

Nirlas said earlier that if coming to the mortal realm is possible, then going to the afterlife must be possible too.

No, more precisely.

Yokai build nests to exist in the mortal realm. These nests become intermediate points between where yokai reside and the mortal realm, allowing yokai to maintain a vague existence here.

Which means…

“…So yokai don’t have their own place, they just cross over from the afterlife?”

“I’m not certain. I have no reason to concern myself with such beings individually.”

He speaks as if taunting me.

“I merely wish to inform you that there are many things in this world that can be understood simply by looking.”

“Then, that—”

“Again, it would be best to think simply.”

Nirlas whispered in my ear.

“If something can exist in the afterlife, it can exist in the mortal realm. If something can be created in the afterlife, couldn’t it be created in the mortal realm as well?”

And there are beings that exist identically in both the mortal realm and the afterlife.

Human souls.

At least, that’s the rule here.

I don’t know what the afterlife is like. I just think of it as a place one goes after death because it’s called the “afterlife.”

So the only thing I could imagine “existing in the afterlife” right now was souls.

“…So what you’ve been harvesting—”

“Principles are amusing, aren’t they?”

Nirlas whispered.

“Isn’t it just believing something exists where there is nothing?”

Nirlas chuckled.

Slowly, very slowly, blood rose from my wrist.

“Believing lightning from the sky is divine anger.”

The blood stretched like yarn, overlapping and twisting as if knitting.

“Believing disease and floods are divine punishment.”

And finally, it became a sword.

“Isn’t it amusing to believe concepts like rights or freedom are absolute?”

The sword slowly descended from midair.

Only the sword and my hand moved around me.

My hand elegantly grasped the sword’s handle, independent of my will.

The slow upward stroke looked almost sensual.

“When they truly meet something worthy of being called a ‘god’—”

“Ah, wait—”

Before I could finish saying “wait,” my body was already moving.

Lightly, as if on a pleasant stroll.

Barefoot, wearing a patient gown soaked with blood and vomit.

“Kotone?”

Yuka called out to me in a confused voice.

Everything around us was already in motion.

“—whether they’ll pray with tears to their ‘god,’ or struggle clinging to that illusion. I’m curious.”

Like a dancer wielding a ribbon, my left hand rose lightly.

The sword smoothly sliced through the middle of the floating head and passed through.

For a brief moment, like a water droplet split in zero gravity, the head remained suspended in two pieces before falling.

The cross-section resembled the human models I sometimes saw in science classrooms as a child.

“I’m curious about your reaction too.”

“How did you—”

“Didn’t I tell you?”

Nirlas said with an amused voice.

“The answer is merely the answerer’s choice.”

And slowly, my hand came down.

“Now, what will you do?”

“……”

I kept my mouth shut.

Blood flowed to my feet, making them wet. It smelled exactly like human blood.

“Now that you know I can control your movements, will you entrust your body to me? Or will you hide behind someone you believe is your friend and just watch their hands get dirty?”

I gritted my teeth.

With those final words, Nirlas stopped speaking to me. He apparently had no intention of controlling my body further.

He wanted me to choose.

Though in reality, I had only one option.

“Kotone!”

I heard Yuka shouting as I started moving.

“I have to go.”

I told Yuka.

And before hearing her response, I rushed out of the hospital room.

*

Seeing Kotone move, Yuka hurriedly followed.

Bloody footprints stretched down the corridor. There were also clear traces of blood flowing from her torn wrist.

“Koko…!”

“Yes!”

Koko quickly grabbed Yuka at her call.

This was the second time experiencing movement that vastly exceeded human speed.

But having experienced it once before, it felt somewhat familiar this time.

The sound that came as soon as Koko stopped was—

A slicing sound of flesh being cut by a blade.

The same sound heard in the hospital room earlier. The sound of an unnaturally sharp blade cutting through flesh, seemingly ignoring bone.

Then came a terrible splashing sound.

Yuka was actually accustomed to such sounds.

She’d witnessed such sights since childhood. Fighting to protect ordinary people from otherworldly beings.

From beings that weren’t from this world, but had crossed over from somewhere far beyond.

But what they were facing now didn’t seem to be such beings.

A yokai without a nest.

…She had heard of such things.

Actually, in traditional stories, yokai were precisely such beings. Existing casually alongside humans, sometimes harming or eating them, but sometimes communicating and coexisting.

The concept of “nests” never appeared in old tales. That concept was passed down only among certain families who hunted yokai as enemies.

She could guess the identity of this yokai.

Nukekubi.

A head that moves separately from its body. During the day, it blends into society like a normal person, but at night, only the head detaches and wanders around.

But even so.

If it were a yokai, it should have had a nest.

“Yuka!”

Kotone shouted.

“Ah.”

While Yuka was momentarily dazed, someone charged toward her.

Another person—or yokai?—whose head had detached, who should have been unable to move.

It was strange. She felt neither the eerie sensation she usually felt when seeing yokai, nor the chilling feeling when seeing vengeful spirits. There was disgust at the grotesque appearance, but nothing more.

Thwack.

A red blade pierced the yokai’s temple. Its eyes, attached to the eye sockets, seemed to break from inside, becoming misshapen. A mixture of transparent, slightly sticky fluid and red blood flowed like tears.

As Kotone swung the sword, the head was slammed to the floor and slid along, leaving a red trail.

It didn’t disappear.

Seeing this finally gave her chills.

Even as she thought she should stop Kotone, she found herself empathizing with the situation, which confused her.

“Yuka.”

Kotone spoke calmly.

Like earlier that evening, Kotone’s body was covered in blood. Wearing only a patient gown made her appearance more tragic. Her blood-soaked clothes clung to her body, and through the somewhat wide neckline, her gaunt figure was visible.

“Yuka. Listen calmly.”

Voices began to be heard again. Over there, sounds came from over there. Everyone gather! Such voices, like people conversing.

While yokai speaking human language was quite common—

“Yuka.”

Kotone was looking directly at Yuka when she turned at her call.

Her shoulder, which Kotone was gripping, was getting wet. That’s how much blood covered Kotone’s body.

“I won’t be able to hold out for long.”

Kotone said.

“Then I’ll—”

“No.”

Kotone said.

“You…”

She closed her eyes briefly to think, then,

“You go request help. There must be people who do similar work to yours here.”

“There are, but—”

“Leave it to them.”

Kotone opened her eyes.

Her gaze was intense, clearly visible even in the dark corridor.

“I’ll clear the path.”

Kotone said.

Footsteps approached.

“Kotone?”

“…Koko.”

Kotone turned her gaze to Koko.

“…Help Yuka.”

“Kotone!”

“…Please.”

At Kotone’s words, Koko’s expression became blank.

Kotone had asked Yuka for things before. But she had never shown such a desperate expression.

In this situation—

“You’re the only one who can contact those people right now.”

“……”

“And Koko’s power is needed to move as quickly as possible. I need to stay here. There might be living people, and more importantly, those things are targeting me. If I leave and they all rush out too, what would happen?”

“……”

“And I’m not weak enough to die from these things. You both can see that.”

Kotone took Koko’s hand, who still looked uncertain.

And pleaded earnestly.

“Please, help Yuka.”

“Can you promise?”

Koko asked cautiously, still not fully convinced.

She held out her pinky finger to Kotone.

“Can you promise to wait here?”

“I promise.”

Kotone said, linking her finger with Koko’s.

“I’ve never broken a promise, have I?”

“No.”

“Then help Yuka. Call people. I’ll be waiting.”

“Mmm.”

Koko hesitated until the very end,

But ultimately did as Kotone asked.

*

Right.

Stay calm.

Stay calm.

Even if the originals of what I’ve been cutting are human souls, I shouldn’t feel guilty.

They’re “not human” to begin with. If they crossed over from the afterlife, they can’t be called human. It’s natural to cut them and send them back. It’s similar to exorcism.

But there’s no need to give Yuka confusion and guilt.

Though not created in the afterlife, these things can’t be called “human” either.

Because when a person’s head leaves their body, that person dies. I’ve never heard of someone surviving after having their severed head reattached.

So, regardless, these things must be eliminated. Whether they have nests or not, they’re already dead.

Right.

It’s not for me to say, given my former profession.

But there is a connection.

If these things don’t die and disappear like yokai but remain here, who will be blamed for that “misunderstanding”?

Who has to take the blame in this situation?

Even if the Yuuki family somehow helps, expecting such a major incident to remain unknown to the public would be too much. Perhaps the authorities might even “assign blame” to cover up the incident.

Koko didn’t seem to fully understand the situation, and Yuka was too panicked to think that far.

Getting them out before they understood was the priority.

One of me is enough.

Right.

If not me, then who?

“If that’s the conclusion you’ve reached, I have nothing more to say.”

“…You openly remove my limitations and then say such things.”

I tried moving my hand.

My body felt light.

I could feel myself slowly getting cold. Probably hemorrhagic shock. The fact that I could still move and use my abilities despite my body sending danger signals was likely due to the blessing of that foreign deity somewhere.

Divine nature, perhaps. Well, at least outwardly, it didn’t look particularly divine.

“But don’t misunderstand.”

I said to Nirlas.

“I’m not someone who will move exactly as you say.”

“Even so, isn’t there already trust between us?”

Nirlas said.

“I give you help, and you give me pleasure. That’s our relationship, I think.”

I didn’t bother responding to Nirlas.

I don’t know why these things exist right now, but there’s no need to think about reasons.

Let’s deal with what’s in front of me first, then think about the next step.

I shook the sword once. Blood fell to the floor.

And I hardened the blood on my left hand.

Like what I used earlier in battle, I created a crystal-shaped blade.

Footsteps approached.

I rushed toward the first person entering.

Two eyes widened at the sight of me. At a glance, it looked like an ordinary person’s face. An expression like someone terrified of a girl charging with a knife.

But this nurse’s head was detached too.

Not just the nurse.

The elderly patients in hospital gowns behind were the same. Some were quite young, and some wore civilian clothes with no apparent connection.

“……”

I swung my left hand at close range. I thrust the crystal protruding from my wrist into the cut surface of the throat. Crack, it broke as it hit the spine.

A piercing scream rang out, but I ignored it.

The body moved and swung at me. The fingernails had grown sharp. When I swung my sword, several fingers were cut off.

Pop!

The crystal embedded in the opponent’s neck burst, turning the head into a red rocket for a moment. The head flipped backward, over the back of what was once its body. I kicked the fallen head away and thrust my sword into the heart area of the now-blind body.

It was a disgusting sensation.

I pulled out the blade and immediately moved to the next without even confirming the opponent had fallen.

“Patient, please return to your room!”

I snorted at the sound of someone shouting that.

“It hurts! It hurts!”

“I want to go home, child.”

“You should stop pretending.”

What could I do for beings that were no longer human?

The best thing is to let them find peace. After all, one can’t live in society with a severed head.

…

Well, there is Koko’s case, but.

Is this different from Koko? These are trying to kill people unconditionally.

I swung my arm at three charging figures. Blood sprayed in a radial pattern, and the heads momentarily staggered.

Yes. Regardless of where they were born, a yokai is a yokai.

I thrust my sword into the mouth of the elderly-looking head in the middle. Then swinging that sword, the head on the left flew sideways like a baseball hit by a bat.

The cross-section of the neck rising from the body was clean. Not a drop of blood flowing. Perhaps because they were already dead.

Even the head impaled on the sword couldn’t withstand the centrifugal force of the powerfully swung blade and slipped off, flying far away with a slithering sound.

“Ugh…!”

But the remaining hand.

And the other two, apparently not dead yet, groped and touched my body.

My right arm was grabbed. Hands grasped the blade and touched my body.

The weight of five bodies rushing from behind pressed down on me.

Fallen on the floor, I barely managed to turn my left arm toward the body directly touching me. The opponent wasn’t even warm. That was somewhat comforting.

Crack.

The crystal extending vertically from my wrist lengthened and pierced through the body. Blood gushed from the neck’s cross-section, soaking my face, but I didn’t close my eyes.

The extended crystal soon transformed into something writhing.

The opponent thrashed wildly, spewing blood from the neck.

Pop!

That large tentacle burst again, and the body went limp.

I forcibly pushed the body aside and got up.

“Argh…!”

Looking down at a sudden pain, I saw a head biting firmly into the back of my ankle, near the Achilles tendon.

I struck it down with my sword and shook my leg to remove it.

“Haa, haa…”

Even with Nirlas’s enhanced body, it wasn’t easy. Blood wasn’t regenerating in real-time, and as more blood flowed out, the recovery speed of my injuries slowed.

Am I going to die like this…?

No.

I shook my head.

That won’t happen.

Because of the prophecy.

At least if Yuka isn’t beside me, I won’t die right now.

I staggered.

Hearing footsteps, I turned to look—

“Kuhuk!?”

I tumbled to the floor with such a sound.

My back hit the wall. After enduring the intense pain and barely standing up, what I saw—

“…Ha, haha.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

There was a cow.

It was like if someone with a twisted hobby tried to create a Minotaur by placing a cow’s head on a human mannequin.

Well, what’s there isn’t a mannequin. It looked so unrealistic that it couldn’t possibly be seen as human.

I heard a cow’s moo.

Not the peaceful “moo” of a cow grazing in a meadow. It was the sound a cow might make being led to slaughter, as if sensing its fate. The sound a mother cow might make after losing her calf.

The eyes on either side were bulging, bloodshot.

The cow charged toward me.

I quickly threw myself sideways. The landing was bad, and my shoulder hurt severely, but I forced myself up.

Thud!

Something heavy hit the wall, sending chills down my spine.

The cow turned toward me again.

And jumped with all its might, over me—

Before it could strike down, I raised my sword. Like a lightning rod erected to be struck, I held it up.

The cow’s head rose into the air first.

Then as it fell toward me, very unfortunately, it was impaled on my sword.

A cow’s head is much larger than a human’s. Naturally, the bones inside would be much thicker, but it entered my sword too easily, as if it were jelly.

The cow’s head stopped moving.

“Huk!”

But when the fat adult male body fell on top, I thought I was going to die. The sword handle was already digging into my abdomen, and with the man’s body impaled on top, I felt like my internal organs were rupturing.

But at least it wasn’t instant death.

I survived.

“Ugh…kuk.”

I rolled to the side and got up. The bitten leg made it difficult to stand properly.

“Haa, haa… huik…”

I stood up, supporting myself against the wall with one hand.

After limping a few steps, I listened carefully.

I no longer heard the sound of multiple people running around like before.

How much time had passed since Yuka and Koko left? I was certain it hadn’t been even 5 minutes.

“Kek, kek…”

A head was looking up at me, opening and closing its mouth. Perhaps trying to crawl toward me.

I struck it with my sword.

It became quiet.

“……”

A terrible scene lay before me. About eight corpses, all dismembered and mutilated, with their heads severed and rolling on the floor.

It was an intensely gloomy and depressing sight.

“……”

Slowly, I leaned down and sat on the floor.

My vision was getting blurry.

Is it over?

…

No.

It wasn’t.

In the distance, I heard a single footstep.

I didn’t think it was Yuka’s.

It was a leisurely, unhurried step, as if whatever was happening here didn’t concern them at all.

Someone was coming toward me from far away.

I needed to stay conscious. If I fainted here, I would surely—

But that was the last thought I had.

*

“Really, there’s not a single thing about you that I like.”

Walking while saying such words.

Looking at the collapsed… thing, Kosuzu inwardly lamented. She always wanted to appear composed, but the scene before her made that impossible.

Summoning the oni had been good. It had diverted the attention of all hunters in Kyoto elsewhere.

In the meantime, she had succeeded in creating those things.

All dead now.

…Was it a mistake to try to kill that one? At the time, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

“I’ll have to give up on what I was planning to use.”

It looked up at Kosuzu.

It had wounds everywhere and had lost too much blood. At least ending its life wouldn’t be impossible.

“Well then, Mr. Waitley—”

But at that moment.

Chills ran down Kosuzu’s spine.

“—Wait!”

She raised her hand, but Waitley had already extended his tentacles forward.

And those tentacles—

Did nothing.

It’s not that blood didn’t flow in midair. Literally, they couldn’t do anything.

Kosuzu could see it.

The tentacles returned to their state before Kosuzu’s command, as if they had never performed such an action.

They didn’t quickly revert. Just… as if their description had been edited.

“Meow.”

And what was heard was a cat’s meow.

“……”

A cat sitting licking its paws, as if completely uninterested in what was happening.

Such a cat was sitting in front of the collapsed Kotone Kurosawa.

“…Why.”

Kosuzu muttered.

“Why, why, WHY!”

The composed, leisurely expression she had been showing until now crumbled.

With a deeply furrowed brow, she stomped her feet like a child throwing a tantrum. Due to her beautiful face, someone might have found this endearing.

“WHY!? Why only after I give up? What are you? What is Kagami? The talent should have been mine! The destiny should have been mine—”

The cat turned away, seemingly uninterested in Kosuzu.

It jumped onto the fallen Kotone Kurosawa’s body and curled up on her stomach.

It yawned widely, familiar with its position.

“They said it wasn’t a god or a sword! Not blood or flesh! Those failures that couldn’t be either!”

Kosuzu was shouting madly, then,

Suddenly stopped.

She took deep breaths. Her shoulders moved up and down dramatically.

“…Well, fine.”

Pushing back her disheveled hair, Kosuzu regained her calm expression and said,

“I’ll have to keep trying methods. This might be a revelation too. I can’t possibly understand the will of the great ones. I can only believe.”

Kosuzu spoke again in a leisurely voice.

“In the end, I’m just trying to make you see me.”

After saying that, Kosuzu turned around.

“There’s more than one existence.”