Ch.151Chapter 23. Blood (5)

“…….”

Yuu closed his eyes, holding the mirror.

And followed the instructions of the person on the other end of the phone.

[A mirror is an object that honestly reflects one’s appearance.]

It sounded like the person on the other end had started moving too, as footsteps could be heard. The voices of people nearby seemed audible as well.

And among those voices, there was one that Yuu recognized.

[Without any exaggeration, whether the one looking into the mirror wants it or not. Those who exist in this world in ways that defy the natural order will see how false their appearance is just by looking into a mirror.]

Despite the movement sounds, the voice remained calm.

At least, it seemed to be trying to stay calm.

[That’s why those beings instinctively fear the mirror. Just looking at it could drag them back to the netherworld where they belong.]

“……Then they shouldn’t have come from the netherworld to this side in the first place.”

Yuu didn’t know why he had muttered that.

The situation was too confusing. In fact, he didn’t know how to process what was happening.

If this was a dream, he wished to wake up soon. Unfortunately, it all felt too real for that.

[……It’s a trade.]

“A trade?”

[Beings from the lower realms of your world become perfect predators in this world. We don’t know what the netherworld is like. But one thing is certain. The beings trying to cross over, the ones who listen to us, cross over because they gain something by coming to this side.]

“……How do you know all this so well?”

And how can you be so confident in handling this…? With his confused mind, Yuu recalled what had happened last year.

Miho, who had suddenly fallen ill and seemed on the verge of death. Kotone, who had somehow resolved the situation.

And that woman who claimed to be that girl’s mother, who had been tormenting Kotone.

……He couldn’t recall her voice exactly. He hadn’t seen her directly many times. He could somewhat remember her face, but…

So, thinking that the voice on the phone sounded like that woman’s was just speculation.

[……]

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

“……Keep telling me.”

He was terrified. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if this method was right. Even if the monsters outside the house were beings that defied logic, he wasn’t confident that they could be dealt with using equally illogical methods. If they had departed from natural laws, could such a system even exist?

Despite these thoughts, the reason he said those words was simple.

He didn’t want to die like this. He couldn’t think of any other options.

[Do as I told you earlier. Focus your mind.]

The woman on the other end spoke again.

[You need to hold the front line until we get there.]

“……Understood.”

Yuu took a step forward.

From beyond the door, he heard someone shouting. It sounded like a fight.

“Yuu.”

“……Dad says the person on the phone told me I need to go to the front and protect everyone.”

“……”

His father’s expression darkened.

[Ah, and there’s one thing to be careful about.]

The woman on the phone said.

[Never, ever look directly into the mirror yourself. Using powers that defy logic to control things that defy logic means that you too— no, we too are subject to the same rules.]

*

I’ll kill anyone who gets in my way.

Despite that determination, the police were incredibly cooperative.

Was it because they had seen Yuka’s family break through the enemies and come up to where we were? No, it was probably because they realized this was a situation only we could resolve.

The van that entered the hotel had a small crack in the windshield, but that was it. The vehicle itself was still intact.

“Here.”

Before we got into the car, Kagami took something out of her handbag and handed it to the neighbor.

It was… a charm. There were already many charms prepared in her handbag.

But it didn’t seem to be the kind made from branches. Rather, it resembled the design Yuka had used against the silkworm in the school yard.

For a moment, Yuka, her grandfather, and her father all focused their attention on that charm.

But no one said anything.

After handing over quite a few charms, Kagami spoke to the neighbor who stood there with a blank expression.

“Since you’ve studied ‘folklore,’ you probably know what kind of charm this is.”

“Yes, but……”

“Use it according to your knowledge. It should be enough to create a barrier to protect people even if the remaining monsters come down from above. There should be plenty of offensive charms left.”

Before the neighbor could say anything more, Kagami got into the van with us.

And before anyone could stop us—though no one tried—the van backed out of the hotel.

I felt uneasy.

Of course, the Yamashita house was connected to Kosuzu, so Kosuzu knew its location. She had actually used her powers to try to kill Ms. Mori there.

So, if Kosuzu wanted to attack, she could have done so at any time.

……I was thinking about the sense of unease I had felt at Christmas.

I had spilled so much of my blood, which was clearly part of my body, all over the place. I even cut my wrist again to ask Nirlas about it.

I was stupid.

I should have anticipated the situation from the moment I felt that unease. If I had, even now—

—Even now, could I have prevented it?

Wasn’t it too late? I had left too many traces in the world. Not just at the Yamashita house. At school, at home. Even while riding the subway.

I had thrown away all the things stained with my blood as trash…

Ah, right.

How many hospitals had I visited while bleeding?

“……”

A chill ran through my body.

“It’ll be okay.”

Yuka, sitting next to me, said.

“I heard they’re holding out. And it won’t take long to get there by car from here, and there aren’t many cars on the road.”

Yuka didn’t seem to have any such doubts.

“Kotone……”

Koko also put her hand on my arm and spoke.

“……Yeah.”

Right.

Maybe it will be okay.

No, it won’t be okay. Because they’re going through something terrible. But at least I thought that it might not be my fault.

We still don’t know anything. There was no one on that side who could properly explain exactly what was happening.

So…… no.

It can’t be.

With trembling hands clenched tight, I tried somehow to convince myself.

Nirlas said nothing.

*

As Yuka had said, it didn’t take long to get there.

Yuka jumped out of the car with her sword drawn, and I did the same.

Flames were burning all over the house. Fire trucks were around, spraying water.

But there were no people in the ambulances.

“Are there people who went inside?”

“What?”

As Yuka approached with her sword, one of the police officers controlling the area was startled.

“Uh……”

And looking at Yuka and me with our swords, he wore an expression of not knowing how to react.

Under Japanese law, openly carrying such bladed weapons was itself a crime.

“Um, yes. There are people who went inside.”

We immediately ran inside upon hearing the answer.

“Ah, excuse me, wait—!”

We heard someone shouting behind us, but of course none of us looked back.

This must have happened too suddenly for those people.

Normally, almost no one runs into flames. Especially not with swords in hand.

The person running at the very front was Yuka.

What appeared before us was.

“Fire Cat!”

I shouted without thinking.

A giant cat singed by fire everywhere.

But the situation was different from when we fought last time.

Ping!

The sound of a bowstring twanging was heard, and an arrow flew from behind. The arrow, moving too fast to be seen, struck right between the cat’s eyes.

A painful howl was heard, and in that moment, a charm flew in.

The blue-burning charm’s flame wasn’t very large, but it was enough to catch on the Fire Cat’s body.

The cat’s howl wasn’t exactly a pleasant sound.

The blue flame ate away at the red flames on the Fire Cat’s body, and Yuka quickly approached the Fire Cat in that opening.

The Fire Cat swung its front paw. Recalling our previous encounter, even just dodging might result in burns.

But the blue flames cannot harm people.

Slash.

Yuka’s “Muname” gleamed blue in the firelight. In an instant, the Fire Cat’s right front paw was cut off and flew away, and before the Fire Cat could register it, the sword moved quickly to sever its neck.

The head fell and rolled with its mouth still wide open.

Thud.

Such a sound was heard near Yuka.

Connected to it were long, black needles. The ends connected to black thread.

It was Koko’s hair. That being, which looked similar to the “Loneliness” I had seen, was instantly neutralized by Koko’s attack.

Its body wasn’t transparent. Rather…

“……Red.”

I muttered without thinking.

It was red. Its appearance was almost identical to what I had actually seen before, but as if meticulously crafted from red clay, its fur, skin, and eyes were all just red.

Or should I say, it looked like it was covered in blood?

“Kotone…!”

As I turned around at Yuka’s cry, I saw a silkworm charging at me with its mouth wide open. It was in the form that crawled on the ground.

Thwack!

A bow flew in and struck its temple. The charm caught fire again, and as Yuka cut off the silkworm’s neck, the yokai perished once more.

And this yokai was also red.

When I came to my senses, I found myself sitting on the ground. Had I fallen backward in surprise? Only after realizing this did I feel some pain in my body.

And heat too. The entire house wasn’t engulfed in flames yet, but large fires were rising here and there, enough for the heat to reach my face.

And pain in my wrist too.

The bleeding hadn’t stopped.

I was continuously spilling blood onto the ground.

Nirlas still hadn’t said anything to me. Hadn’t demanded anything.

The only times Nirlas didn’t make demands were when I borrowed that power to do something that Nirlas found enjoyable.

“Kotone!”

Yuka roughly grabbed my arm to pull me up. It wasn’t out of malice. It was urgent; she needed to move me somehow.

All kinds of cries could be heard from all directions.

I could hear people sobbing, and I could hear the sounds of yokai I had encountered before.

Yes, the sounds of yokai I had encountered.

Why did that fact make me so uneasy? Shouldn’t I be glad? At least most of the yokai here would be beings I had faced before.

……I was thinking about the sense of unease I had felt at Christmas.

I had spilled so much of my blood, which was clearly part of my body, all over the place. I even cut my wrist again to ask Nirlas about it.

“Ah, excellent.”

“……Kotone? —Ah!”

When my mouth moved on its own to speak, Yuka turned to look at me.

And both of us rolled on the ground.

“Kotone! Kotone! Kotone—”

Koko shouted as she saw me rolling on the ground, but her voice grew distant.

Lying on the ground, I looked in that direction and saw that the blood I had spilled—the “chi”—was wrapping around Koko’s legs. And her arms and body too.

“Don’t, do that.”

“You have something you desire.”

When I spoke, my mouth answered.

My neck turned. I could see the main gate of the mansion. I could see the people beyond it. I didn’t see any dead people yet, but I saw several people impaled by chi. In their thighs, in their calves. They had been trying to escape when they were pierced by something that had risen from the ground.

Several cars had broken through the neighbor’s wall and entered. The tires had been torn off completely. People were coming out bleeding. People in police uniforms were supporting others as they came out.

The blood I had spilled.

The blood I had spilled on the way here.

The blood I had carelessly spilled in alleys, in some apartment, at school, at hospitals, on mountains, was moving. I could tell.

“Not yet, I see.”

The corners of my mouth twisted upward. I mocked myself as I spoke.

“Not a single person has died yet, I see. Though they are injured. Do you wish to end it here?”

It’s not my fault.

I, I didn’t know.

“No, you did know. At least you suspected.”

Hee hee, laughter was heard.

“After you told me the story, I couldn’t contain my curiosity and peeked into your mind a little.”

So Nirlas knew. Knew how I understood this world.

That’s cheating, isn’t it?

“I wonder if it wasn’t cheating for you to borrow the power of an outer god. Who made that rule?”

“You knew. You suspected that the being called Kotone Kurosawa, while outside the story, had done something important.”

“You saw the connection to Her, and that those who serve Her serve you.”

“Yet you claim you didn’t know?”

“So this is your fault.”

My mouth opened.

No screams or cries came out. My voice was not my own.

“Incarnation of Her. Being that should not have existed. I wonder if you desire it.”

What.

“Koto, you…!”

Yuka swung her sword as she got up from the ground. The chi that had been wrapped around her legs was cut away by the sword, becoming just liquid that could do nothing.

“You know what She wants.”

Wriggle, wriggle.

I could feel the chi in my left arm moving slightly.

Yuka didn’t seem to have noticed yet.

“If it goes according to the prophecy, everything will end.”

Nirlas speaks through my mouth.

Yuka limped toward me.

Footsteps were heard from the direction of the mansion, but I couldn’t turn around.

“Kotone!”

Koko’s voice, sounding confused, was also heard.

“Now, what will you do?”

Did Nirlas not want Yuka to hear? Or was it just Nirlas’s preference?

This time, instead of using my mouth, Nirlas whispered in my ear.

Hands were placed on both my shoulders, as if to tempt and control me.

But even knowing this, I couldn’t do anything.

If only the prophecy had been told from the beginning.

If only I hadn’t lied today.

Would things have been different?

It was my responsibility.

All of it.

I.

“……I want it.”

“Then you need only act as you wish. As always, She doesn’t demand more if what you want is the same.”

“Kotone.”

Yuka came up to me.

When she touched my shoulder with her hand, seemingly trying to support me, the force weighing me down disappeared as if it had been a lie.

The fire rising from the mansion reflected and sparkled on Yuka’s sword.

“Yuka.”

“It’s okay, Kotone.”

“……Yeah. I know how to make it okay.”

“……Kotone?”

“Yuka. Please.”

I looked at Yuka. No expression was visible on Yuka’s face. Yuka had completely hidden her emotions.

“I’m sorry…… I’m sorry. Really.”

My vision was a little blurry.

“I, lied.”

Such a young child. Still a high school student, a normal girl who should be having fun with friends without a care in the world, doing silly things sometimes, at that age.

She was too young to endure this, to bear this weight.

I couldn’t save such a child.

It was an arrogant thought from the beginning.

“The prophecy, what it spoke of, was me. I’m sorry.”

I spoke as if pleading.

As if that could somehow lessen the guilt.

As if… that could ever be possible.