Ch.70Chapter 10. Mirror (10)

“W-what are you people…?”

Nakahara Nanami, who had been dragged into the large van along with Koko, spoke with terror in her voice.

She tried her best not to appear frightened, but it wasn’t working well. This was her first time experiencing something like this.

And it was something that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

“Huh?”

Koko, not understanding the situation, tilted her head.

Seeing Koko’s reaction, Nanami suddenly came to her senses. She realized that she needed to stay alert here.

Nanami quickly embraced Koko and tried her best to shield her from view.

Near the two of them were men dressed in black. They were all large in build. Perhaps they had enough strength to break their necks with bare hands.

“…”

Moreover, they were wearing black masks over their faces.

Where were they going now? What would happen to them?

Countless thoughts raced through her mind.

What two girls might suffer at the hands of large men who had kidnapped them—no matter how she thought about it, no positive scenarios came to mind.

“Where’s Kotone?”

At those words, Nanami turned her head.

From within Nanami’s arms, Koko looked up at her and asked quietly.

“Where’s Kotone?”

“Kurosawa…”

No, that’s not right.

“Kotone wasn’t there. Were you looking for her?”

“Huh?”

Koko tilted her head again.

Seeing her inability to understand the situation broke Nanami’s heart.

What should I do?

The people in the van hadn’t done anything yet. They were all just sitting there, watching the two of them.

But even so—

“…Kurosawa Kotone.”

One of the men spoke.

Nanami’s shoulders flinched.

How did these people know Kurosawa’s name?

But paying no attention to Nanami turning around, the man in the black mask continued speaking.

“Our leader wishes to speak with you. If you agree, the girl next to you will be safe. She’ll return home unharmed.”

Leader? Speak?

What were these people talking about?

She felt even more uncomfortable.

Of course, she wasn’t hoping these people were sex offenders or murderers.

But if they were religious fanatics doing something similar, couldn’t even more terrible things happen?

Like becoming a living sacrifice, or being used in various ways—

“…”

Koko peeked her head out from behind Nanami’s shoulder.

Looking straight at the men, Koko said:

“Kotone told me.”

Koko paused briefly, then continued:

“Not to go with strangers.”

Nanami felt as if her heart had dropped.

“…”

The men didn’t respond.

But their silence alone felt like an answer.

Shing.

A suspicious sound came from behind.

It sounded like something being drawn from something else.

“Hik, hiik…”

She wanted to tell them to stop, but all that came out of Nanami’s mouth were such pathetic sounds.

At least she could shield Koko—

“Huh?”

—or not.

More precisely,

For some reason, when she opened her eyes, it wasn’t Nanami embracing Koko, but Koko embracing Nanami.

As if trying to protect Nanami from the men.

Then, the knife that should have stabbed Nanami pierced through Koko’s body.

Blood didn’t splatter. Koko’s expression didn’t change.

The scene felt somewhat strange.

Something had clearly hit Koko’s back. From the sound, it was…

Feeling something flowing down her legs, she looked down to see red liquid flowing.

“Ah, aah…”

Nanami hurriedly felt Koko’s back.

There was a long wound on her back. Something was flowing from there.

“…What.”

The man muttered.

“Kotone said,” Koko spoke.

“That’s not allowed.”

Koko’s wet hair swayed slightly.

Just as she was thinking it was a strange sight—

Thud!

Suddenly, a loud noise came from above the car.

It sounded like something heavy had fallen on top.

“What!?”

Two men who had been frozen in confusion shouted.

Everyone in the car, including Koko and Nanami, looked up toward the car’s roof.

Clank!

An ominous metallic scraping sound came from the car’s ceiling, followed by:

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several more striking sounds, and then:

Crack.

Something pierced through the car’s ceiling.

The tip looked like a knife.

Crackle.

After twisting the metal plate forcefully from side to side, the knife was pulled back.

Rain leaked through the enlarged gap, slightly wetting the inside of the car.

And through that gap, someone’s gleaming eyes were visible.

“Kyaaaaaaah!?”

Only then did Nanami, whose mind had been in another world, return to reality and let out a loud scream.

*

The advantage of a residential area with mostly low buildings is that the roads are narrow.

Of course, for those who enjoy driving or have to commute by car every morning, it might be a nightmarish place.

But it’s perfect for chasing a car. Especially in a situation where you have to pursue on foot without a car.

“Ha.”

Hagiwara, who had climbed onto the car, muttered.

She had found the collapsed utility pole and had her suspicions, but it was impossible for Hagiwara, the attack unit, to intervene in their affairs alone.

Still, she did her best.

She circled around, looking for anything unusual. And what she found was a black van that kept circling the area for some reason.

Suspicious?

Of course it was.

Because it was the method used by the cathedral when sending out personnel.

Hagiwara mentally noted the people who remained motionless in the car even after several minutes of observation.

It wasn’t long after that when Hagiwara spotted Koko.

And seeing Koko being kidnapped along with Nanami was, in a way, fortunate.

“No, that’s not right.”

If she had found them a bit earlier, she could have resolved the situation before it happened.

Hagiwara thought this as she brushed her hair back and pressed the “device” firmly against the car roof.

A device attached to the right arm that forcefully shoots out a knife using a spring. At the cathedral, it was called a “stake.”

Well, what went inside was a knife, but the way it was used was like a stake. If you stabbed a vampire’s heart with it, even a vampire would probably disappear thinking, “I’ll acknowledge this much as a stake.”

Originally, it was meant to be concealed within wide sleeves.

“Haah.”

What a vacation this was.

She had finally been able to spend time with Souta, but all sorts of interruptions had prevented her from properly enjoying it.

“And it’s only the second day!”

Hagiwara said this and activated the device.

Clang!

After stabbing the knife in a few times and forcibly twisting to create a gap, she looked inside.

…She saw Koko with a bloodied back and Nanami embracing her.

Koko’s wet hair was swaying.

“…That’s right.”

Hearing Nanami scream from inside, Hagiwara applied force to her arm, slightly raised her upper body, and placed the device nearby.

“No matter what, this is too much, isn’t it?”

Unless Nanami suddenly had family matters and needed to go home.

Not ‘like this’.

No one in the world should be in ‘this kind of situation’.

Crack!

As Hagiwara widened the hole in the car’s ceiling, she thought.

*

Huff, huff, huff…

Ah, this is really tough.

I was somehow managing to hold onto my consciousness, which felt like it might slip away at any moment.

Honestly, I wanted to collapse and faint right now. I kept trying to convince myself that if I slept and woke up, everyone would have taken care of everything…

But I couldn’t.

That, at least, was not an option.

Koko was my responsibility. So I couldn’t faint until I confirmed she was safe.

“Kurosawa, wouldn’t it be better if you rested—”

Sasaki, who was supporting me, said.

“Yes, senior! Your face has turned pale blue!”

Shii, who was supporting me from the other side, said the same.

By the way, Yuuki had already run off in the direction the children had mentioned. The sword had already disappeared too.

Sasaki and Shii were forcibly taking me along as I stubbornly insisted on following.

It was fortunate that they were both wearing raincoats. I would have felt bad if they got soaked because of me.

“I’m fine. You two should go back to the hotel…”

“Who are you to say—”

As Sasaki was saying this with disbelief,

Bang!

The sound of something colliding was heard.

Even in a car, speed is limited in these narrow alleys. Moreover, despite the typhoon, there are quite a few cars on the streets. Even if they managed to avoid those cars, they would have to slow down to turn corners.

So, they probably couldn’t have gone far enough to not hear such a sound.

Shii, Sasaki, and I looked at each other.

Both Shii and Sasaki’s faces had turned pale.

…

No.

I think Koko and Nanami will be fine.

Koko can move at an incredibly fast speed and has a sturdy body. I’m not sure how small she can become and still survive, but she’s much more resistant to impacts than ordinary people.

And Nanami, who is with Koko, is the same. I hope Koko helped Nanami.

We quickly moved in that direction.

*

“Hik.”

Shii screamed upon seeing the accident scene.

The van seemed to have failed to properly control its speed as it tried to exit onto a slightly wider road.

Without fully turning sideways, it crashed straight into the wall at the exit to the road. I wasn’t sure if the driver was dead or not.

But at least the back part was somewhat intact.

And—

“Yuuki! Hagiwara senior!”

A loud voice came from Sasaki’s mouth.

Hagiwara seemed to have scraped and injured her arm, but her body looked quite intact.

Seeing the three of us approaching, Hagiwara shouted:

“The door is stuck! Help me open it!”

Hagiwara had a peculiar device on her arm. I had read about its use in novels.

The van’s window was cracked but not broken. If it had been ordinary glass, Hagiwara could have broken it, so it was probably special glass that doesn’t break easily.

The car door was dented, and the lock part was open, but the problem seemed to be that it was stuck from the back.

Engine oil or just plain oil was leaking from under the car.

“Wait here.”

Sasaki said this and left me leaning against a wall not far from the car, then ran towards it.

“Kyaaak!?”

A scream was heard from inside the car. It sounded like Nanami’s scream.

…Blood splattered on the window.

Koko alone could have escaped if she wanted to. That small gap would have been enough for her.

But Nanami was inside too.

“…Koko!”

I shouted.

My voice didn’t come out properly. It might not have been heard over the sound of the rain.

“Koko, the door…!”

Only after I shouted did Koko seem to understand the situation.

“…Ah!”

Did she hear my words?

Among the children trying to open the door, such a sound was heard.

After that, I could see it too.

From inside, Koko’s hair was coming out through the door gap.

And.

Creak.

A creaking sound came from the van’s door.

“…Now! Everyone!”

Crackle.

Thanks to Koko’s strength and the children clinging to the door, the van’s door was opening bit by bit.

Koko was visible from inside.

Koko was covered in blood.

And the cause of that blood was a man who had stabbed Koko from inside.

…

My mouth fell open.

Why?

Why would she go that far—

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Hagiwara thrust her hand into the van.

Thunk.

A sound like something being fired was heard, followed by a man’s scream from inside.

“Quickly, get out…!”

The first to come out was—

“Ah, Koko!?”

Nanami’s voice was heard from inside.

Then, as the children stepped back slightly, Nanami was pushed out.

There was blood on Nanami’s body, so I wasn’t sure if she was okay or not. I could only hope that Koko had protected her.

And after that, Koko would—

“…Huh?”

Suddenly, Yuuki made such a sound.

Her face moved sharply to the side.

Chills.

A chill ran down my spine.

Like when encountering a yokai.

A large truck was speeding madly from the alley where the van had come from.

And without bothering to turn aside or apply the brakes.

Crash.

Right before my eyes.

It completely crushed the van.

I froze, half-standing.

“…Huh?”

Drip. Drip.

Blood flowed from under the van.

That blood slowly diluted in the rainwater pooling on the ground.

“Koko…?”

Ah.

What is this?

I felt a slight sense of déjà vu.

I’ve seen this scene somewhere before.

That’s right, in my past life.

The truck’s driver’s door opened, and a man tumbled out.

Bleeding profusely from his head, the man staggered to his feet and walked towards the back of the truck, the cargo area.

“Wait—”

Before Yuuki could stop the man, he moved first.

The man raised a knife and stabbed the back seat of the truck.

And from there—

Thud.

A pointed “flesh” pierced the man’s body.

The man was dragged into the tent without even being able to scream.

“…Sasaki!”

“Huh? Uh…!”

Sasaki quickly ran over to me and supported me.

The chills still hadn’t gone away.

That… that wasn’t just a yokai. There was no basis for it, but my instincts were screaming so.

Koko… about Koko, just a moment…

“Ugh…”

Memory.

A memory surfaced.

Thinking of Koko, who was like the current Koko.

A car crushed from behind.

My sister inside. Unrecognizable.

Burnt corpses in the driver’s and passenger’s seats.

Me, who had received the report and gone there—

No.

No.

No.

This is completely different from then.

There was no fire, it wasn’t a 7-car pileup, and I wasn’t wearing firefighter clothes.

Moreover, there was still hope for Koko.

And there was something even more important.

That.

Yuuki looked back at me anxiously.

I can’t draw more blood now. If I draw more now, I might really die. Yuuki seemed to be worried about that too.

But if there’s a method, there is one.

“Hagiwara senior!”

At my call, Hagiwara quickly approached.

“A knife, for Yuuki too.”

“Okay.”

Hagiwara, with a stiff face, handed Yuuki a knife she took from her device.

“But, Kurosawa. Right now.”

“There is.”

“No.”

Yuuki shook her head.

“Rather, right now—”

“No. Not my blood.”

I looked at Sasaki.

“…”

“…”

“…Me? My what…?”

“I need your blood.”

“Kurosawa?”

“No time to explain.”

I said, looking at Sasaki.

“I don’t need much. Just enough to slightly coat the blade.”

“What are you saying? On what basis?”

Hagiwara asked again, but Yuuki seemed to have already made up her mind.

“Sasaki, your hand for a moment.”

“No, wait, what are you doing…!”

“I understand.”

Sasaki calmly said.

“Kurosawa. You need my blood, right? I can’t understand the situation exactly, but.”

The crunching sound from the truck was gradually diminishing.

After it finished eating the man, it would surely move towards us.

Sasaki extended his hand.

“…I’m sorry.”

Yuuki looked at me once, then at Sasaki’s hand, and slightly cut the tip of his finger with the knife.

“Ah…”

Hagiwara made a distressed sound seeing the blood seep out, but Yuuki didn’t stop and used the entire blade to cut the tip of Sasaki’s finger.

“Brother!?”

Shii, who was taking care of the panicked Nanami, screamed, but by then the coating was already done.

“…”

“Senior, I’m fine.”

“…If this is useless, I won’t let you off.”

“If this is useless, we’ll all die.”

“…”

Perhaps sensing the sincerity in my words, Hagiwara bit her lip and grabbed another of Sasaki’s fingers.

“Sorry!”

Just as Hagiwara finished coating, with a bang! the back of the truck was torn.

A flesh-like mass, similar to a slime, turned towards us.

A flesh-colored slime was much more terrifying than I had imagined.

As soon as it confirmed our location—I’m not sure how it saw without eyes—it thrust a flesh spear towards us, just as it had done to the man earlier.

Slash!

And that spear was cut by Yuuki’s sword and fell to the ground. The flesh mass, which had surely been solid, flopped around like a fish as soon as it hit the ground.

Yuuki looked back at me.

That expression made me feel guilty in my chest.

…Yuuki probably thinks Koko is dead.

And yet here I am, standing as if nothing happened. Yuuki didn’t even have a chance to offer words of comfort.

It’s okay.

After everything is over, I’ll explain everything one by one.

Right now, resolving this situation comes first.

Yuuki forcibly tore her gaze from me. I could see her jaw trembling from how hard she was clenching her teeth.

…I’m sorry.

Really, I’m sorry.

“Nanami!”

Sasaki approached Nanami.

“…Sasaki, Koko… Koko…!”

“Koko will be fine.”

When I said that, Nanami, Shii, and Sasaki all looked up at me simultaneously.

All three of their expressions were incredibly subtle.

As if I couldn’t accept the reality.

“Koko is fine.”

“…Kurosawa…”

Nanami said.

…It seems she’s come back to her senses. Because of me.

“More importantly, let’s get away from here first.”

At my words, the three stood up.

“Kurosawa, you too—”

I shook my head.

“I need to step in when necessary.”

“…”

Sasaki looked at me, then said:

“Shii, take Nanami and move far away.”

“Brother!”

“…Sasaki.”

“My blood is effective, right?”

Sasaki said, looking back.

Yuuki and Hagiwara seemed to be struggling a bit, but they were somehow managing to deal with the flesh mass.

“That thing won’t be able to touch me.”

“…”

I silently looked at Sasaki.

“B-brother…”

“Shii, take Nanami and go. I don’t want to see you two get hurt.”

“Souta!”

Nanami shouted, but Sasaki’s mind seemed made up.

“Kuk!”

A sound came from behind.

Clang.

A knife fell and rolled on the ground.

Hagiwara quickly dodged to avoid the tentacle, but she ended up far from the fallen knife.

Sasaki threw himself towards that knife.

“Sasaki!?”

I involuntarily shouted.

Sasaki picked up the knife and cut his palm with it. Blood flowed from his hand.

“Brother!?”

Shii shouted again, forgetting even to call him “orabeoni.”

Sasaki threw the knife to Hagiwara and swung his hand towards the flesh mass.

The flesh mass that the blood touched shuddered and quickly jumped to the side.

A jumping slime.

It wasn’t a scene I particularly wanted to see.

Yuuki ran towards where the slime was landing and swung her knife. The slime’s skin burst and blood flowed out.

“———!”

The slime, howling with a strange sound that no human could imitate,

“Kuk!?”

Instantly caught Yuuki’s leg.

Yuuki tried to cut off that tentacle with her sword, but another tentacle was already flying towards her.

As Hagiwara and Sasaki rushed towards the flesh mass—

“…Kotone.”

Such a voice reached my ears.

“Huh?”

Shii and Nanami behind me made dumbfounded sounds.

“Ha…”

I lost strength in my legs and slumped to the ground. My bottom got wet, but since everything from my hair to the inside of my shoes was already soaked, it didn’t matter.

Yes, I knew she’d be fine.

In fact, Koko, who had been covered in blood just moments ago, was now completely fine.

…Though her clothes weren’t fine.

No, she wasn’t wearing any clothes at all. Well, having been inside that thing, it’s impossible for her clothes to be intact.

“…Can I kill it?”

Koko asked.

In Koko’s voice asking that, I felt an emotion different from usual.

It was similar to when she was looking at the men who approached me this morning.

“…That’s not a human, so.”

I said.

“It’s okay.”

“Okay.”

Koko responded to my words.

And then, before I could even register it, she disappeared in an instant.

“—————!”

It wasn’t long after that when the flesh mass let out a scream.

Long, thin, hair-like spines were piercing the flesh mass from all directions. Blood flowed.

Honestly, the sight of the hair pulling back out after penetrating the flesh mass wasn’t pleasant. It looked like magnified human pores.

“…What is this.”

“…”

Hagiwara muttered, and Yuuki turned towards me.

I couldn’t see her expression clearly.

Ah, it seems I let my guard down too much after hearing Koko’s voice earlier.

My eyelids were incredibly heavy.

…I wonder to what extent Koko can remain unharmed from impacts.

…And why, with such power, she was so docile in that form.

…How did she regain that aggression.

Such questions that had just arisen sank deep into my consciousness.

Like weights, they grabbed my ankles and pulled me down.

“Kurosawa! Kurosawa!”

“Kotone…?”

The names calling me echoed, and

I fell asleep without being able to respond.