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V11 Story IV – Part 01

A lone girl sat somewhere in the distance.

In the twilight, crimson flowers fluttered softly, floating in the air like cherry blossom petals.

At the bottom of the red whirlpool, the girl sat alone. She raised her milky hand in the bright red world.

Her fingers crumbled. Petals, red as blood, burst forth from her palm, dancing in the air before returning to the girl’s flesh. She smirked faintly. Hugging her knees, she gazed up at the sky.

“I’m no longer truly human, am I? Not truly a bird either. What am I becoming? A betwixt-and-between,” she said, as if reading a story.

Flowers chuckled quietly around her. Then, petals began to wrap around her body. Despite being consumed by crimson, a smile remained on her lips.

In the gentle sea, halfway dyed in red, she said, “I’ve sown the seeds. In the ground, in the water, in the sky, in flesh. Just a little longer until many, many flowers bloom.”

Suddenly her smile vanished. With wide eyes, she was swallowed by the sea of flowers. A gust of wind blew again.

Like magic, the sea of flowers disappeared. Crimson petals scattered, leaving nothing behind.

The girl’s body was nowhere to be found. But her voice lingered as if only her lips remained floating in the air.

“And thus, your story comes to an end. Serves you right,” the girl spat out disdainfully.

And so, the end arrived.

We made it back to the office safely. As Mayuzumi predicted, Sadashita was found adrift at sea. However, Mayuzumi chose not to disclose his betrayal to the clan.

“Many members of the main family have been lost. Typically, the branch family handles public operations, so this incident could trigger a shift in power dynamics. You could say it’s a natural progression. The era of worshiping living gods may well be over, but that’s none of our concern. I don’t care about such nonsense. Right now, we need to address this situation urgently.”

Mayuzumi and I sat across from each other on leather couches. The room smelled sweet. On the table lay two flowers. They were identical in size but differed in the glossiness of their petals.

One had thick, blood-red petals that shimmered faintly in the light. It was the flower Mayuzumi had taken from Kotori and worn in her hair.

She reached for the other flower beside it, then abruptly dug her nails into its petals. It sounded like human skin tearing. Nectar oozed from the vertical cut, wetting Mayuzumi’s fingers. Fragments fell onto the desk one by one. Red petals, stamens, and sepals were soaked in nectar. The somewhat brutal sight made me shudder.

Then, Mayuzumi picked up the glossy flower. She tore the crimson petals apart with her nails, evoking an unsettling image in my mind—tearing open a person’s belly and extracting their baby. Something white landed on the table, weirdly shaped white objects that scattered across the surface.

Mayuzumi picked one up. “This is a seed, Odagiri-kun. This is what I wanted.”

She handed it to me. The white thing, now resting on my leather glove, didn’t look like a seed at all. More like a broken tooth spat out by a woman.

“The flowers that bloomed in the Mayuzumi household did not have seeds,” she went on, playing with a seed. “But to propagate flowers, you need a source. Only Kotori-kun had the flower that held the seed for the rest. Her flesh has been replaced by flowers from the spirit world. She herself is a collective of flowers that bear seeds.”

I closed my eyes briefly, recalling what occurred at the mansion. Kotori transformed into a red flower and dispersed. Upon coming into contact with Mayuzumi’s parasol, she, as a nonhuman entity, crumbled away. But she wasn’t dead.

“Her soul is likely elsewhere. The first flower that birthed numerous others. The crimson flower fashioned from Kotori-kun’s body. Her soul is stored inside.”

This was the root of the flower aberration. To stop the flowers’ proliferation, we needed to locate it. But we had no idea where the flower was blossoming. We pretty much had no lead.

“If that girl, the one causing the phenomenon, vanishes, the flowers will just naturally wilt. Flowers not of this world cannot bloom on their own. But if they all bloom at once, there will be chaos. Those flowers eat humans. The scarlet woman said she would destroy anything. It will be worse than just the scales tipping. If numerous flowers bloom in regions where the boundary between worlds is already blurred, resulting in mass casualties, the two realms will merge entirely. It’s like offering a mass sacrifice at the border between worlds. The source of the aberration won’t just move. Everything in the affected area will be assimilated into the spirit world. If the boundary is breached, areas where flowers bloom will be engulfed completely. In short, the door to the spirit world will open. Those caught up in it will find themselves in grave danger.”

My hands balled into fists. I recalled the tragedy at the Mayuzumi household. Should that occur on a city-wide scale, it would be an irreversible catastrophe. The situation had escalated. Mayuzumi’s life alone could not resolve it anymore.

Sadashita’s words echoed in my mind. He was undeniably right. But I refused to sacrifice one life to save many. I couldn’t bring myself to kill Mayuzumi.

I might’ve given a different answer in the past. But she and I had been together for too long.

I couldn’t be a saint noble enough to sacrifice one person for the greater good of many.

“The flowers are currently spreading in three places: in the vicinity of the Mayuzumi household, your apartment, and this office. Even if we flee from these areas, the city will be engulfed. You wouldn’t allow that, would you? Besides, I’m not keen on relocating either.”

“If our efforts fail and the spirit world opens, what will happen?”

“Well, most people who aren’t accustomed to it will likely suffer mentally. I’ve never experienced the kind of hellish scene that might unfold. Depending on the distribution of the flowers, many may have already died. It might be entertaining, but it’s not a sight I wish to see. Plus, the woman is in the spirit world. That entity is a monster that can only thrive in the depths of the spirit world, like a fish dwelling in the ocean depths. Its real body can’t surface. Merely tipping the scales won’t allow its physical manifestation. That’s why the scarlet woman is resorting to such extreme measures to create these abnormal situations. If the spirit world opens, the scarlet woman will likely come straight for me. So annoying, really.”

Mayuzumi chuckled lightly. I lifted my face.

“Is there a way to prevent that?” I asked, desperation in my voice. “What should I do?”

“As I mentioned earlier, we just need to nip the original flower. Then, the remaining flowers will naturally wither away. Alternatively, you could kill me. That would be the swiftest solution. My torn belly is hardly a pleasant sight to see, though. You’re free to choose,” Mayuzumi responded casually.

At this point, even if she were to be killed, she wouldn’t voice any complaints. But I rejected her suggestion. I didn’t want to resort to killing her and awaiting my own demise.

I wasn’t fond of the idea of a double suicide. My stomach squirmed, and my heart raced, but I ignored them.

And I casually weighed our lives and the lives of many on the scales.

“How do we find the flower?”

“Fear not, it’s surprisingly simple. Swallow that.”

Mayuzumi gestured to my clenched fist. I opened my palm, revealing a white seed moistened with nectar.

As I studied the grain that resembled a tooth, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Shirayuki, who had been listening silently, swiftly opened her fan. She was leaning into me.

“Is it dangerous? If it’s harmless, then I will take it.”

“A single grain won’t have any significant impact on the body. Also, don’t even think about it. There’s no point in you ingesting it. Odagiri-kun harbors a demon in his belly. Sometimes, he can share the demon’s sight.”

I nodded. Whenever I temporarily lost my vision, I shared the demon’s sight. It happened when the baby noticed Shiramine’s presence at the Minase household.

Mayuzumi nodded back. “If you consume this seed, the demon should react to the foreign substance. It will be temporarily roused, but just endure it. Then, simply follow what you see.”

I furrowed my brows at the cryptic instructions. Smiling, Mayuzumi gestured to the window behind her.

The expansive gray sky, blanketed by thin clouds, hinted at an imminent snowfall.

“There’s something outside that you can’t see. Only those linked to the scarlet woman and the spirit world, like me and Asato, can. Go on. Ingest the seed and take a good look at it,” Mayuzumi urged.

Feeling Shirayuki’s concerned gaze, I placed the seed in my mouth. The bitter taste of the nectar numbed my tongue, and my throat resisted the foreign substance. But I forced myself to swallow it.

The seed plummeted into my stomach, and the demon stirred within me.

“Ugh… Uka…”

The demon was displeased by what I consumed. My vision spun, and I shut my eyes tight. Shirayuki urgently patted my back. Catching my breath, I gradually reopened my eyes.

The muted winter light stung my eyes. The atmosphere felt altered. I gazed out the window with an oddly serene feeling.

Mayuzumi reached for a cup. Behind her was the window, with its scarlet curtains wide open. I let out a deep sigh.

Both the fox and Mayuzumi were not like me. It was impressive how they managed to retain their sanity.

Before me sprawled a red world, eliciting disgust. Petals resembling women’s lips whirled in the murky air.

This was what I couldn’t see until now. It was both beautiful and hideous.