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V11 Story I – Part 12

“That island turned out to be nothing but trouble,” Mikage said, slurping her tea. I silently agreed with her sentiment.

Mayuzumi’s office still carried its usual sweet scent as we sat on the leather sofa, having a conversation. Several days had passed since our return. The Mayuzumi clan had also concluded their investigation.

Only the three of us made it back alive from that island.

After the ship picked us up, Mikage was discovered hiding near the stairs in the backyard. She had been sleeping in her room, but upon hearing the commotion, she fled outside. From there, she descended the backyard stairs and witnessed Towa and the cook escaping on a cruiser, leaving her behind.

Mayuzumi, wearing a bored expression, flipped through the investigation report from the Mayuzumi clan in front of Mikage. “I see. Towa’s background matches what I expected. She was a child sold by the human trafficker that Yusuke killed. There’s a record of the high-value transaction.”

“She came from that place, huh?” I mumbled. “I can’t believe it.”

“And it wasn’t just her who was sold. The cook was too.”

My eyes snapped wide in surprise. I had never imagined that the cook was also a child sold from there. Mayuzumi nodded at my reaction. With a porcelain cup in hand, she continued speaking.

“He didn’t possess any special abilities, but he was sold along with his younger brother. They were bought by the mansion and for a long time served as cooks specializing in human flesh. Their connection to Towa remains unclear. There’s probably a reason why only he remained.”

I clenched my fists. The two of them were still missing. However, it was confirmed that all their assets had been withdrawn. Towa and the cook disappeared with vast wealth.

I recalled her repeating that fate couldn’t be changed. If they were still alive, what would they do now?

“Will they at least be able to live normally from now on?” I asked.

“Gruesome pain can sometimes turn humans into demons. A demon is a demon. Not a human being,” Mayuzumi replied. “The pain of being eaten is severe enough to make one unable to live as a human anymore.”

I digested her words. The grotesque feast must have broken her spirit. Still, I couldn’t help but believe. Her sorrowful smile belonged to someone oppressed.

Suddenly, I recalled a human turned demon from similar circumstances. I envisioned the distorted smile of the scarlet woman. Towa and the cook should be able to return to normal, unlike the woman who spent over a hundred years in the spirit world.

They should be able to live without eating others, without seeking solace.

Mayuzumi drank her hot chocolate, then wiped her lips. She glanced at Mikage, who was sipping tea while fiddling with the report.

“With this, the case is closed,” Mayuzumi declared. “Mikage-kun, there’s something I want to say to you.”

“Hmm? What is it? I thought you summoned me just for a report, but is there something else?”

“Your eye is already gone, so will you stop trying to kill us now?”

Gulp.

Mikage took a sip of tea, then returned the cup to the table.

She regarded Mayuzumi with a tense face. Mayuzumi returned her gaze with a smile. The air had suddenly frozen, and I was dumbfounded.

“Wasn’t it you who shot Odagiri with the crossbow, tripped the breaker, and initiated the first attack?” Mayuzumi said, continuing her deduction on the island. “No need to hide it. Admitting to it would make things easier, you know?”

“Where’s this absurd accusation coming from? What’s your basis for it?”

“Odagiri-kun told me you were wandering around the mansion at the time. While other guests had some grasp of the mansion’s layout, they didn’t show interest in other people. Their purpose was the dinner party. They wouldn’t want more victims. They wouldn’t attack people. Just think about it. Odagiri-kun’s flesh would not taste good.”

Mayuzumi smirked sarcastically.

“While you were snooping around, you found the crossbow and the stairs next to the storage room,” she continued. “Then, you called out to Odagiri-kun to lead him away from the dock. You didn’t want him to find the escape route. Then, you instructed Odagiri-kun to go upstairs, retrieved the crossbow, and lay in wait.”

I thought back to what I told Mayuzumi. Towa said that the crossbow was displayed beside the stairs near the storage room. I returned to the entrance hall and used the main staircase, providing ample time for Mikage to set up her ambush. It was Mikage who had suggested I take the main staircase.

“If you’re serious, why not try going up the grand staircase at the entrance?”

Mikage crossed her legs arrogantly and jerked her chin, urging Mayuzumi to continue.

Wearing a smile, Mayuzumi went on, “You didn’t mean to hit his stomach. And you didn’t expect him to persuade Towa-kun. When you saw the two of them coming down, you didn’t go to the dining hall, and instead observed from outside. Then, you looked for the perfect timing to cut the power. You shot Odagiri with the crossbow and retreated. If I survived the chaos, you would have killed me too. But before you could do that, those two returned. Before Odagiri arrived, I saw the pair peeking into the dining hall. After restoring the power, instead of immediately fleeing through the back door, they seemed to be searching for someone. Towa and the cook must have realized that you, the survivor, were the culprit.”

“Sensing danger, you escaped through the back door. Encountering them inside the mansion would have spelled certain death for you. But there wasn’t enough time to operate the cruiser, so you hid behind the rocks until they left.”

Mikage didn’t respond. Mayuzumi reached for some chocolate. Rolling the elaborate eye on her tongue, she bit into it.

“That’s why you invited us to the island, am I right? You’re the type who would happily crush their own eye. You wouldn’t hesitate to kill us to lessen the risk of the prophecy coming true.”

I recalled the images depicted on the cards. How Mikage slid the card across the table with her pale fingers.

A man with his mouth agape in astonishment, and a girl in a black dress with a missing left arm. That was me and Mayuzumi.

If one card was removed, there was a high chance none of the images would come true.

After maintaining her silence for a while, Mikage suddenly sneered and snorted. Leaning against the leather sofa, she clicked her tongue loudly.

“Mayuzumi, do you know how much hardship I’ve been through because of this eye?”

“No clue. I’m not interested, so I don’t feel the need or want to know,” Mayuzumi replied coldly and took a sip of hot chocolate.

There was no sign that Mikage heard the response. She exhaled sharply.

“I can see people’s futures periodically,” she continued. “Every time I told someone, they’d freak out, calling me a god or a demon. I almost had my eyes gouged out on more than one occasion. I thought about crushing my eyes countless times. And then one day, someone told me that if I only had one eye, I would see the future less frequently. So I auctioned it off at a disgustingly high price!”

Mikage reached for the eyepatch covering her left eye. She tore it off. There was no prosthetic eye fitted into the empty eye socket.

“It was creepy as hell to have people crowding around my eye,” she said, pointing to her eyelid. “They treat human eyes like works of art. If I hadn’t been paid a shit ton of money, I wouldn’t have been able to bear it.”

She gulped down her tea and slammed the cup. The edge of the porcelain chipped and rolled off the table. Flicking it away with her fingers, Mikage sneered and slapped her knees.

“So, I thought about settling down a little bit and turn it into a tool to make money, but then this. I never asked to see even my own death. Like, fuck. Does this thing want to make me suffer until the end? I couldn’t just sit down and take that. I’ll do anything to avoid the future that my eye saw. You could call it the desire of someone who didn’t want eyes that could see the future.” She stared fiercely at Mayuzumi.

“Your eye is gone,” Mayuzumi said, unfazed. “And we don’t have to see each other again. We live in different worlds. Unless we try to, we’ll never cross paths. Staying away is the best solution. Otherwise, the only remaining option would be to kill each other.”

Mayuzumi stared hard at Mikage, flashing a wicked smile. Physically, she was just a girl. She didn’t have the means to kill someone. But her words rang gravely.

Mikage clicked her tongue. “I’ll do just that, Mayuzumi Azaka. I pray we never cross paths again.”

Tapping the table, she rose from her seat and left immediately. I watched her go.

My clenched fists creaked. Honestly, all I wanted was to grab her arm and smack her right there and then. If she hadn’t fired that crossbow, no one would’ve died at that dinner party.

But yelling and raging wouldn’t make her feel remorseful. And she wouldn’t feel ashamed.

Even if she ended up in hell, Mikage would proudly declare she had no regrets about her actions. She’d use anyone and everyone as stepping stones, like how she crushed her eye with her foot.

Mayuzumi set her cup down, then shook her head and glanced up at me.

“Now then, Odagiri-kun,” she said, as if she had entirely forgotten about Mikage. “You did well in this case. You suffered a bit, but we did gain something. Rejoice. It’s finally ready.”

She opened her pouch and pulled out a sinister, black, rusted bandage. It was coated in ash. When she handed it to me, my breath caught.

“What… What on earth is this?”

“I mentioned that I’d prepare something for you, didn’t I? This is your new seal. It’s made from ashes and the blood of several people who just died.”

I stared blankly at the bandage. Closer inspection revealed rusted blood stains beneath the ash. It dawned on me what Mayuzumi was apprehensive about; she had wanted to obtain the materials for this. Sensing a possible grim situation, she hoped to get them.

My fingers trembled. This cloth was made from the deaths of people. Four victims’ blood and their ashes.

My stomach churned violently. The baby whimpered. My mind went back to Mikage. She had fought to survive, even if it meant stepping over others. Wasn’t this the same? What was the difference? Was I that desperate in covering up this ghastly left hand of mine?

“Decide whether you want to use it or not,” Mayuzumi said, smiling faintly. “It took quite a bit of effort to make. If you don’t need it, I’ll just throw it away.”

I gripped the bandage tightly, biting my lip. Sweat drenched my entire body.

I wanted to throw it away immediately. I wanted to yell at her and toss it on the floor. But my fingers holding the bandage weren’t shaking anymore. That was my answer.

Squeezing my left hand, I said, “I’ll… use it. Would you wrap it for me?”

I felt like vomiting or bursting into laughter.

Even if I chose amputation, we still needed to prevent the scarlet woman’s interference. If I couldn’t bear the pain, there was no choice but to use it. But even that was just an excuse.

I will live by using what’s in front of me. Despite knowing it was a product of death, I will disregard human dignity and use it. It was as despicable as eating people just because you were hungry.

I took off the leather glove and unwrapped the bandage. The flesh wriggled and naturally filled the wound.

Mayuzumi wrapped a new bandage around my flawless hand, and the pain disappeared. I clenched my fist and bit my lip. Mayuzumi said nothing about my despicable choice.

She lay back down, looking bored, staring at the distant ceiling. Then she closed her eyes.

As I watched her lovely yet ominous form, a thought came to mind.

Mikage’s left eye had disappeared from this world. The visions the oracle had seen would never come true. And that’s how Mayuzumi avoided her fate. It wouldn’t be right if fate couldn’t be changed by one’s own hands.

That’s what I believed.

But was that really the case?