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V13 Story II – Part 12

In the next moment, Uka’s body convulsed violently. Her eyes widened in confusion as she stared at me. I couldn’t respond, only return her gaze with a pained expression.

I understood. She had just consumed something she should never have eaten.

Uka’s face was etched with anxiety. Her eyelids split open vertically, and her eyeballs popped out. Red handprints appeared on her skin, which stretched as if being pressed from within. Terrified, Uka dropped to her knees with a heavy thud. Her cheeks puffed as she tried to scream, spreading out on the ground like freshly pounded mochi. A horrifying amount of drool dripped from her open mouth.

“Pa… pa!” she called desperately. Her voice was deep and hoarse.

Uka’s thick, caterpillar-like fingers reached for me. She was undergoing a transformation. But into what, no one knew. The change appeared to be either a systematic progression toward some form or simply a chaotic expansion without order.

I remembered Mayuzumi’s words vividly. “I doubt that once it’s fully grown, it will still have a human form.”

A fully grown demon could never take on a human form. The monster, though still a child, was nothing but a monster. My child looked at me pleadingly, but her eyes also held a clear hunger. Her giant feet stomped the ground, leaving blackened, scorched marks.

She lumbered toward me, her massive body shifting with each step. Her exposed, lidless eyeballs stared at me.

All the hair on my body bristled. There was something in her eyes that terrified every living thing.

Suddenly, I found myself screaming. Uka’s huge eyeballs quivered. Massive drops of liquid slid down her downcast face. It took me a moment to realize they were tears.

Uka was crying. As she transformed into a monstrous form, she shed tears.

“Papa. Papa. Papa!”

She flailed her limbs like a child throwing a tantrum. Each thrash scraped the ground and crushed flowers, killing them for good. As she destroyed the immortal flowers, she continued to cry, drooling. I couldn’t tell if her cries for me were due to hunger or affection. She probably couldn’t distinguish between the two. She repeated the same words in her deep, throaty voice. Suddenly, I understood her barely coherent speech.

“Papa. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sooorry.”

Uka was apologizing. She thought I disliked her because she ignored my instructions and was transforming into something else. But she had done nothing wrong. She only tried to help me. It was my duty to stop her. I was the one who made the mistake. Yet she continued to cry.

As tears streamed down her face, Uka said, “I’m sorry, sorry, sorry. Don’t hate me, papa. Papa, I love you. Don’t hate me. Sorry, sorry. I’m sorry!”

She wept and apologized as she begged to eat me. Viscous tears dripped and hardened into round shapes on the ground. She had become this hideous creature because of me. I had used her for my own needs, and in doing so, had turned her into a monster. I closed my eyes and exhaled. My instincts screamed to run, but I ignored them. I saw a smiling face in my mind’s eye.

“I’m sorry, Mayu-san,” I whispered hoarsely.

I took a step toward Uka, forcing my trembling legs forward. Her massive teeth loomed before me. Her face was as tall as my height. She tilted her unnaturally thin neck, as if questioning why I would come closer. Shaking, I stood in front of her, her foul breath washing over me. Every fiber of my being wanted to flee, but I reached out my arms. This was all I could do.

I embraced her with all my strength, burying my face in her wet, foul-smelling cheek. It was a parent’s duty to hold a crying child.

“I won’t hate you,” I said slowly. “Never.”

It was a lie. As long as I was human, I couldn’t help but revile such a hideous and terrifying creature. But it was also a genuine sentiment from my heart. I poured out a mix of hypocritical lies and heartfelt truth. I was afraid of her. I abhorred her. But at the same time…

“You’re my child.”

And I could never hate my own child.

Uka gently nuzzled her cheek against me, her enormous face rubbing slowly against my body. She lowered her head, and for a moment, a glimmer of reason flickered in her eyes. Repeatedly, awkwardly, she pressed her cheek against me with great care, trying not to crush me.

She opened her mouth, her deep voice striking my ears sharply. “Papa.”

“Yes, Uka.”

“I… love you.”

“And Papa loves you too, Uka.”

Uka purred softly, snuggling against me like a cat seeking affection. Even as a monster, her behavior was unchanged. But drool continued to overflow from her mouth. Warm, gooey liquid splashed against my shoulder.

“I don’t want this,” she mumbled.

Despite her protests, her mouth still opened wide, releasing a foul stench. Her thick tongue writhed near my face, and her wild, hungry eyes fixed on me as she cried uncontrollably.

With a deep, guttural scream, she shouted again, “I don’t want this!”

She lowered her gaping mouth over my head. Just as it was about to snap shut, someone yanked me back, pulling me to the ground. I looked up. My eyes widened when I saw who it was.

“Asato?”

He stood before my eyes. Just as I had placed myself in front of him earlier, he now did the same for me. He glanced at me briefly, an indescribable mix of emotions flickering in his eyes. Regret and anger.

Throwing caution to the wind, he turned to face Uka. “If you can hear me, listen. What do you wish for?”

He reached out his right hand and wrapped it around Uka’s swollen fingers. She froze, reason flickering in her eyes. She whispered something like a prayer.

Sweat beaded on Asato’s forehead. “Ugh… gah…”

Asato grimaced, more pained than I had ever seen him, but he didn’t let go. Teeth clenched, he clung tightly to the demon’s hand.

Moments later, changes began to occur in Uka’s body. Her skin melted, and her flesh turned into a gooey sludge, pooling on the ground and spreading like black tar. From the stinking muck, Uka reemerged in her human form, but her transformation didn’t stop there. She regressed into an infant and floated in the air as if pulled by an umbilical cord, then settled into my abdomen. I felt terrible discomfort, as though a bomb had been planted inside me. The overwhelming weight pulled me face flat on the ground. Asato fell soon after. He didn’t even attempt to brace himself as his body landed limply among the flowers.

I clawed at the ground, ripping through flowers as I scrambled toward him.

“Asato! Say something! Are you all right? Are you… alive?”

“If I were dead… what would you do? Don’t call me without being ready. My right hand’s in an awful shape. This is a first.”

He casually lifted his right hand, and the sight left me speechless. His palm was horribly burned, blistered as if boiled in water.

“Does it hurt?”

“Of course it hurts… but there’s nothing to be done. Your demon… put up quite a fight.”

Asato’s eyes drifted to my abdomen, widening in shock. For once, his expression stiffened. He lifted his gaze, and our eyes met. He opened his mouth but said nothing, covering his face with his uninjured hand. Then he went still, silently lamenting something. I didn’t utter a word. There was no need; I understood all too well. I gently stroked my belly and let my body relax as I collapsed backward in the red flower field.

The flowers, soft yet firm, cushioned my fall. A moment later, I heard a rustle nearby. Asato had also laid down in the flowers.

Gazing up at the crimson sky, he said, “What’s next, Odagiri? You can head to the spirit world anytime now.”

“I suppose I can.”

Asato no longer said how it was foolish to rescue Mayuzumi Azaka or that there was no way to fight the scarlet woman. The curse had been lifted. I could leave the estate whenever I wanted, and I could go bring back Mayuzumi. Rising slowly, I looked around and picked up my bag, which I hadn’t realized I’d dropped.

After a moment of thought, I said, “I think I’ll head home first.”

The words hit harder than I’d expected once I said them out loud. I knew I needed to go after Mayuzumi, but I just wanted to go home first. Tears spilled down my cheeks.

Having somewhere to return to was a blessing. That truth hit me deeply.

Wiping my tear-streaked face with my bloodstained hand, I stood up and reached out to Asato. He took my hand with his good one, and I pulled him to his feet. Together, we faced the sky.

A thought crossed my mind. I wanted to smoke, but my lighter was out of fuel. Without anything to hide my trembling voice, I tried to sound cheerful.

“There are people I need to say goodbye to.”

“That’s just like you.”

There were people I wanted to visit, people I wished to see before heading into the spirit world. Their dear faces filled my mind.

Faces of the people I loved.