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V6 Story IV – Part 07

There was a sharp sound. A fan flashed, striking the crow. The bird retracted its claws and fled into the air at an abnormal speed. It flapped its wings repeatedly. Shirayuki pulled out her brush and placed it on the floor.

The crow swooped down towards her head. Right then, my body moved.

“Shirayuki-san!” I cried out in horror, extending my trembling hand.

The crow’s sharp beak, wet with cerebral fluid, slid across my palm, tearing my flesh. I gasped in pain as something lodged itself between my bones. Akimasa, who had been standing frozen, collapsed, as though a thread controlling him had been cut. Meanwhile, something rose from the floor.

Wings made of ink flapped as a crow, drawn to life by Shirayuki, soared in the air.

Sharp beak drilled through the living crow’s throat. It gasped for air, spewing blood, before falling to the floor. It wriggled about, flapping its wings randomly. I pressed down on the wound in my palm and rushed to Akimasa’s side.

“Akimasa-san!”

He was still breathing, but that was all. His chest rose and fell softly, but he didn’t move. Fluids spilled from his eye socket.

“Call a doctor!” I shouted. “Quick!”

“It’s no use. There’s no way he’ll survive,” said a cruel voice.

Shirayuki rushed toward me and took my hand, but I shook her off. I turned around and confronted Mayuzumi, who was still sitting down.

“We don’t know that!” I roared.

“Their beaks are designed to make it easy to kill people. With such a deep hole in the eye socket, he can’t possibly survive. And one more thing, Odagiri-kun.”

Her gaze shifted to the side, and her red lips twisted into a nasty smile.

“I don’t think we can contact anyone.”

Crash.

A glass broke somewhere.

I lifted Akimasa onto my shoulder and stood up.

We left the lounge and passed through the entranceway on our right. Contrary to expectations, the hallway’s massive window remained unbroken. But as I gazed upon it, I was horrified by what lay beyond. Black silhouettes stood in a neat row on a carpet of blood-red.

A shiver coursed through my veins. The arrangement was too deliberate, something only a human being could’ve done. It evoked a profound sense of discomfort, almost revulsion. Shirayuki and I stopped in our tracks. I expected the crows to shatter the windows and swoop in at any moment. But they remained still, as if their feet were rooted to the ground.

Mayuzumi strode forward confidently, coming to a halt halfway down the hallway. She turned slowly, casting an exasperated look at us.

“What are you doing? Come, quick.”

I shifted Akimasa on my back and raced forward, barreling through the door to the dining room.

A small bell jingled.

“Itsuki-san! Benihina-san! Are you all right?!”

An eerie scene greeted us.

Itsuki and Benihina were seated at the table. They raised their heads and looked at us. Perhaps they had heard the sound of shattering glass, for their faces were etched with fear. But nothing seemed amiss in the dining room.

Steam was rising from the soup, and water droplets were trickling down the bottle of dressing.

Benihina tilted her head curiously. Her gaze turned to me. Blinking, she studied my shoulder, narrowing her eyes. After wearing a troubled expression, her eyes snapped wide.

“N-Nooo!” she screamed, her face contorted with horror.

I looked at my shoulder. My suit was stained red, and something soft was sticking to it. Akimasa’s head was swinging from side to side. I couldn’t hear his breathing anymore. My arm suddenly felt weak.

Akimasa fell to the floor. I raised my hand fearfully and touched my shoulder. My palm came away wet and mushy, the sensation jolting me back to reality.

“Ah…”

Shirayuki swiftly tore the hem of her kimono. She wrapped the cloth around my injured palm and wiped my shoulder with the rest of it. Benihina continued to scream, as if her throat was broken.

Mayuzumi approached Itsuki and Benihina. She shrugged her shoulders adorned with feathers.

“As you can see, we were attacked by a crow in the lounge,” she said. “Looks like they’re preparing for their next move.”

Itsuki slammed his fist on the table, launching the dishes in the air.

Clenching his fists, he lifted his face and glared at Benihina fiercely. She covered her mouth and swallowed her scream. Seeing her frightened state, Itsuki looked away.

“I’ll call Aoi,” he mumbled. “She’s the most likely culprit.”

His voice was laced with deadly intent.

We hastened out of the dining room and headed to the stairs. Dark shapes lay outside every window, staring at us with lifeless eyes.

We were being watched. I was sure of it.

As we made it up the stairs, Itsuki pounded on the farthest door.

“Aoi! Open up, Aoi!” he bellowed. “Maybe… she’s not inside?”

Realization struck. If she was the puppeteer, she could have already fled. Itsuki rammed his body against the door. There was a creak, and the walls shook. After several attempts, the door burst open. As we stepped inside, our breaths caught.

The window was shattered.

Scattered shards of glass glinted. A woman lay on the floor, bathed in a golden light. Her white blouse was torn, revealing a twisted hole in her stomach through which her innards spilled out. Reddish-black entrails were strewn in all directions. Black feathers were steeped in a viscous pool of blood. The colors were as vivid as a painting of religious significance.

Sky burial, I thought to myself.

A crow was perched on the windowsill. It swallowed a piece of red flesh and cawed.

Caw!

The crow spread its wings wide.

Shirayuki and I sprang into action. Shirayuki ran her brush across the floor. I pushed Benihina and Itsuki out of the door. A crow made of ink fluttered up from the floor. This time, it transformed into a swarm that filled the room. Carrying the scent of ink, they swooped down on the real crow.

But the next moment, the blackness by the window grew.

“Huh?”

Caw, caw, caw, caw, caw!

The caw turned into a resounding chorus of cries, their shrill, piercing notes reminiscent of screams, distorted by a metallic dissonance. Two types of black swirled around the room in a mad dance. I ran over and grabbed Shirayuki’s shoulder, helping her stand up as she watched the crows. Black feathers, red blood, and black ink fell on her feet.

The crows were devouring Shirayuki’s creation.

Feathers clashed, beaks crossed, and ink crumbled.

“Those are no ordinary crows,” Mayuzumi muttered behind me. “An animal raised by an esper is nothing but a monster.”

I recalled the spider. The crawling woman was a grotesque creature far different from ordinary spiders. The birds before us were crows, yet not exactly crows either.

The swarm of monsters would not go down that easily.

I grabbed the bewildered Shirayuki and hurried out into the hallway. The moment the door closed, the battle ended.

The door shuddered, followed by a dreadful noise.

It sounded like something piercing and the shattering of glass. A chill ran through my entire body.

I remembered the countless figures swarming the house. Countless wings flapped, sounding like a raging tempest.

Shirayuki crouched down and pulled out another brush.

Hawk.

Several birds of prey took flight and soared towards the approaching swarm of blackness.

We descended the stairs, weaving our way through the birds.

Feathers fell. The air was thick with the smell of animals.

Benihina lowered her head and let out a scream. I punched the crow that latched onto her hair, and it dangled helplessly. She wailed and yanked the crow away, tearing out a clump of her hair with it. Another bird swooped down, but a hawk came to our rescue and sank its sharp claws into the crow’s side.

The crow fell to the floor, its belly ripped open by the hawk’s beak. Itsuki crushed the entrails underfoot.

A fierce battle raged on near the ceiling. The crows were unrelenting in their pursuit of us as we darted down the hallway. Shirayuki scribbled ceaselessly with her brush, dispatching nimble birds to intercept the incoming crows. Although the number of crows did not decrease, the birds were keeping them at bay. Without her power, Itsuki and Benihina would have perished long ago.

Blood oozed from the arm protecting my head. My suit’s sleeve had already torn, but the crows did not attack my exposed skin. Shielding Benihina, I checked the situation behind us.

Mayuzumi strolled leisurely with a red parasol on her back.

The crows were not targeting us.

When we fought back to protect Itsuki and Benihina, they locked in on us, but after a while, they ignored us again. They wanted to kill only Itsuki and Benihina. Even when Mayuzumi twirled her parasol provocatively, they didn’t react.

Her walking gracefully amidst the chaos made her look like the master of the crows.

But it couldn’t be her. The puppeteer had to be someone else.