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V11 Story III – Part 05

Thud.

I realized I had let go of her hand.

Kotori’s body, with no one to prop her up, crumpled. I took a step back.

The red flowers began to stir, swarming around Kotori like predators. Engulfed in a sea of red, her body vanished from sight, leaving only the heavy scent of blood lingering in the air. Another step back, and then another.

I couldn’t wrap my head around what had just happened. I stared blankly at the red stain on my shirt, my eyes blinking rapidly. I reached up to wipe the blood from my face. The pain in my left hand had dissipated.

I almost wanted to laugh.

It’s been a while since my child last ate a human being, I thought offhandedly.

I took slow steps backward. Then, I turned on my heel and fled from the crimson tide of flowers.

The corridor had turned back to normal. The flowers that once adorned the walls had vanished, leaving nothing behind, not even petals on the floor. Leaning against the wall, I pressed on, my thoughts consumed by a single objective.

I needed to find Mayuzumi, and fast. She was the only one I could turn to now.

Did I just kill someone? Could I be held responsible for the person devoured by my child?

Racing down the dark corridor, I suddenly stopped before reaching the guest room.

A glow emanated from around the corner. The light in the dining room was on. Someone was inside.

The image of Mayuzumi seated at the dining table flashed through my mind. Even if it wasn’t her, and it was one of her retainers, they would know where her room was. I redirected my steps toward the source of light.

“…What?” My breath seized in my throat.

I was met with a puzzling, familiar sight. Honestly, I wasn’t that shocked.

It was bound to be another mistake. There was no point in being surprised. I approached the dining table calmly.

A girl sat alone at the far end, draped in a black dress, slumped deeply in her chair. Her torn neck was bent backwards, and her laced attire was drenched in blood.

Before me lay a lifeless Mayuzumi Azaka.

Dumbfounded, I drew closer. Her head, adorned with a headdress, hung limply like that of a broken doll. A gaping wound marred her throat like a second mouth.

Roughly, I grabbed her hair and lifted her head. My senses had gone numb. I peered into her face, unprepared for what I was about to realize.

“…Huh?”

Exquisite features stared back at me. The face, possessing unparalleled beauty, undoubtedly belonged to Mayuzumi Azaka.

My gaze flitted from the head to the wound on her throat. The torn skin was mangled. The wound bubbled. It was Mayuzumi’s face. Confusion swirled in my mind. What was I holding?

Why did this body have Mayuzumi’s face?

“What the hell are you doing?!”

A voice erupted, and I turned. The acting head of the family stood there, wide-eyed, pointing a gun at me. As I glanced at the firearm, my grip loosened, and the head of the corpse drooped, swinging. I opened my trembling mouth.

No. This is not Mayuzumi Azaka. But why does it have Mayu-san’s face? Can you answer that? Tell me. What is this?

I moved my lips desperately, but no words came. Silently, the old man approached, his arm outstretched. His sharp gaze bore into me like that of a serpent.

Say something!

Abruptly, the ground beneath us trembled slightly, accompanied by an eerie sound.

“What… What is that sound?” the old man muttered irritably.

In the next moment, the floor rippled like mud, the hard surface flexing and cracking. From the gaping maw, green vines stretched forth, coiling like serpents around the old man’s feet as he jumped back. Ahead, thick buds emerged one after another.

Crimson flowers bloomed, their petals parting like human heads bursting forth.

Watching the nectar drip from the core, I thought back to Mayuzumi’s warning.

“Leave Kotori-kun be. Who knows what would happen if you laid a hand on her.”

Vines snaked along the floor, entangling my feet. Then, someone hoisted me up.

With surprising agility, the old man scooped me up, slinging me over his shoulder effortlessly as he fled from the dining room.

I watched the chaos unfold behind us. The vines tore through the floor, consuming the room in their wake.

Countless red flowers blossomed, and in the midst of the chaos, I saw Mayuzumi’s mutilated corpse falling apart.

---

The old man sprinted up the stairs and threw me into a cramped room. My shoulder crashed hard against the floor. Oddly, though, I felt no pain.

Part of me felt relieved. This had to be a dream. It couldn’t be real. But the spot where I hit grew warm, and my heart raced. Uka whined anxiously from the pit of my stomach. Despair filled my mind.

It dawned on me like a blow to the back of my head. This wasn’t a dream. Everything I did and saw was real. But it shouldn’t be. Mayuzumi couldn’t possibly be dead.

The old man peered down at me with a cold gaze. Then, he seized my collar and yanked me up. The wound in my abdomen throbbed. His snake-like eyes glinted up close.

“Did you kill Azaka-sama?”

What is he saying?

I couldn’t make sense of his words. I cocked my head, puzzled. He clicked his tongue at my reaction.

“Hmm, you’re even slower than I thought. Listen, Odagiri Tsutomu. You killed Azaka-sama… That much is clear… But what’s this? What happened to that blood?”

He glanced down the hallway, then pointed at my shirt. My whole body was stained red. Kotori’s blood dripped from my leather gloves. Shock registered in the old man’s eyes, and he rubbed his chin.

“That blood… Red flowers bloomed out of nowhere, and that Kotori girl is nowhere to be found. Could it be…”

He glared at me. Then, with a heavy sigh, he drew the gun from his concealed holster once more. Clicking his tongue, he opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

“Not good. This is not good. What in the world happened?”

The rumbling downstairs persisted. The old man’s murmurs faded as he shut the door, locking it from the outside. He must have brought me to the second floor because this room could be secured from the outside. The Mayuzumi clan should have collected the mansion keys when they retrieved the bodies. I glanced around. The windowless room was engulfed in darkness. I spotted the silhouette of a stuffed toy on the floor. It resembled a child’s room, but it felt oppressive. I thought of Towa.

Did she spend her time here until her foster father passed away?

The ballerina atop the music box held her broken arm toward the sky. As I stared vacantly, my vision blurred. Blood oozed from my stomach. Only Mayuzumi could close the wound.

A hollow laugh escaped my lips. The fox was right. I seemed to regard the current situation as someone else’s problem.

I had forgotten that Mayuzumi Azaka’s demise meant mine too. But I still didn’t believe that she was dead. Her sinister smile would never change, no matter what happened.

I bit my lip, facing the truths I had evaded, feeling their weight anew.

“…Mayu-san.”

I never wanted her to die.

Thud.

The ground trembled below. Something was unfolding downstairs.

Was Aya safe? How was Asato faring? I pushed myself up and willed myself to stand. It was too soon to declare Mayuzumi’s death. Although I’d seen her lifeless face, I couldn’t come to terms with it. Battling nausea, I rose and limped toward the door.

Reaching out into the darkness, my leather gloves brushed against something soft.

“Huh?”

I blinked, and gasped. Moist eyes peered up at me from extremely close. Someone stood before the door, their milky palm overlapping with my leather glove.

Kotori clasped my hand and said softly, “You really have no qualms about killing me, huh, cutie?”

A gentle smile spread across Kotori’s face. Her fingers wriggled like insects as they intertwined with mine. My leather gloves slid up, and a sharp pain shot through my left hand. I couldn’t let her take this away. Instinctively, I swung my arm.

Underneath the leather glove, her soft palm was crushed abruptly.

Crimson blood spurted out. Kotori, soaked in fresh blood, glanced down at her severed hand, confused. I stared at my blood-soaked hand, then lifted my head, meeting her gaze. Kotori shrugged.

Before I could scream, a knock came at the door.

“Odagiri, are you in there?”

An unexpected voice broke the tension. Quickly, I called out, “Aya, I’m right here! Aya! Huh…?”

My eyes widened in shock. There was no one at the door, and not even bloodstains remained. Cold sweat trickled down my neck. Was it all just an illusion? I swallowed hard, trying to calm my pounding heart.

“Odagiri? Odagiri! Are you okay? Hey, answer me!”

“Y-Yeah… I’m fine, I’m fine.”

“Thank goodness. Just wait a bit… Can I open it? Let me try something.”

Click.

The door opened. Faint light entered from the corridor. Aya stood there, casting a relieved smile my way. I opened my mouth to thank her but found myself speechless.

“…What are you doing, you idiot?”

“Huh? Oh, don’t worry, I’m okay. It was falling apart anyway.”

Aya chuckled. Her left arm was melting away. Flesh dripped from the keyhole.

She had transformed her left hand into a key to open the door. She should still have plenty of time to retain her human form, but the decay progressed rapidly from her transformed arm.

Aya plopped down on the floor, and I knelt beside her. A violent trembling shook the first floor. Suddenly, a different sound mingled with the rumbling.

“Gunshots?”