Mob Yandere

Chapter 118.1

Chapter 118.1

[Part 1/5]

The lingering 'remnant' of Shishimai Asami's soul awoke when Tamaki was trapped by vines.

"..."

Her thoughts were vague, her body heavy but strangely light. A quick glance at her lower body revealed the reason. Despite the severe and fatal wounds, she felt no pain, which made her realize she was no longer alive. She couldn't help but sneer...

"…Don't mess with me."

She muttered quietly, but her feelings were intense. With no interference in her mind, she felt a surge of hatred, anger, frustration, regret, and... sadness.

"...Is this how it ends? I won't let it...!!"

She gritted her teeth, trembling with humiliation, and her thirst for revenge became her guide. And so, she crawled out.

Slowly but surely, she weakened her presence and dragged her body with both hands, accepting her miserable state, heading toward the hibachi. It served as a perfect distraction since the hibachi was engrossed with the servant.

Carefully, so carefully, the servant launched something with a catapult. The hibachi was hit directly, exploding, shattering, and the ashes scattered. Though not a fatal blow, she found the pulsating entity within the white ashes. It was clad in flames like a will-o'-the-wisp.

"Ha, this works perfectly...!!"

Her lips curled upwards. She advanced, closing in, crawling. Then, without hesitation, she grabbed the burning core, not caring about the burns on her hands.

"Ah..."

"Hmm?"

Muttering overlapped. Someone's hand stopped above Shishimai's hand holding the core. She shifted her gaze along the arm, which was swollen and painful from the burns. In her sight, she found the well-mannered sheltered girl who looked at her in astonishment.

"Um, um, Shishimai-san?"

"...No, be more cautious. Fool."

Facing the bewildered girl, Shishimai declared with a wry smile. Dealing with a traitor like her, she was far too defenseless. The girl's future genuinely worried her.

"Yes, um... no, not that, um...!?"

Without thinking, Tamaki responded, but the servant's scream immediately afterward makes her turn around involuntarily. Her face turned pale. Shishimai stopped her from screaming and focused on the dagger in her hand.

"You have a good weapon there. More reliable than my nails. Can you lend me a hand?"

In response to Shishimai's request, the girl in front of her nodded immediately, which once again left Shishimai exasperated...

...

...

And so, the flames screamed, shouted, and roared from the depths of the monster, collapsing, rampaging. It was the dying scream of the entity controlling the flames.

"Di... did it...!?"

Tamaki couldn't help but mutter, clinging to hope. It happened right after that.

"!? This is bad...!!"

The space trembled. The world shook like an earthquake. It convulsed like a living being. And the scenery, the walls, began to crack.

"Eh...!?"

'Kihh!! Kuhuhuhuhu!! It's over now!! There's no way you can escape anymore!!'

Tamaki was frightened and disturbed by the situation. The one outside 'Mayoiga' was laughing maniacally with flames speaking on its behalf. The flames mocked while crushing themselves. They screamed and declared.

'Mayoiga' distorts the space and laws within it, creating an otherworldly space. However, like many spiritual and youkai arts, it's a deceptive act. When the spiritual or youkai power runs out, or the practitioner is lost, the distorted laws would inevitably return to their original state. Naturally, 'Mayoiga' had no intention of safely releasing any intruders who entered before its demise.

'Hahaha!! It's over!! Everything is over now!! You can't escape from here!! You'll be trapped in eternal nothingness...!!'

Continuously berating, taunting, and cursing, the flames gradually disappeared completely. Only the loud cries echoed in the room for a while, but no one paid attention to them anymore.

"But, we worked so hard to defeat it...!?"

Tamaki had a despairing expression in response to the monster's parting words. Did it mean that the hard-won victory was all in vain?

'Calm down, young lady.'

The hummingbird that landed in front of the visibly shaken Tamaki spoke with a calm and wrinkled voice. It then explaining, 'Don't worry. Considering 'Mayoiga's' nature, it wouldn't fail to provide a way back.'

That was a condition for the powerful ability of the youkai called 'Mayoiga.' Before the method of "blowing it away from the outside" was established, it was recorded that a defeated 'Mayoiga' indeed adhered to that condition. It wasn't out of sincerity but rather an instinctual element they had to adhere to.

...However, that's why they paved the way back as harshly as possible.

'In any case, there's no time to waste. Instead of lamenting, let's hurry and leave.'

With this declaration, a bear-like youkai appeared in Tamaki's field of vision, carrying the servant, who had turned black from the burns on its back. The bear youkai couldn't run, but Tamaki felt thankful that it carried her benefactor. However, she also felt guilty and embarrassed for forgetting about her savior due to 'Mayoiga's' words. She berated herself inwardly for her terrible personality.

"Thank you, Bear-san. Oh, right, Shishimai... W-Wahhh!!?"

As she was about to express her gratitude and request Shishimai's rescue, Tamaki was suddenly embraced tightly by the bear. She panicked.

"No, bear-san! I'm fine. Rather, you need to save Shishimai-san..."

'Don't be foolish. Young lady, she is in no condition to catch up to you.'

Running away on foot was impossible with a wild bear's speed. Not to mention when a bear youkai was carrying two people at full speed. Moreover, Tamaki's arm was burnt, and her other hand had a deep wound from the dagger (tant?). So, running was out of the question. For hummingbird, it was already decided that Tamaki would be carried.

"But...! What about Shishimai-san!? And we have to go get Botan-san too!"

'If she's capable, she'll find a way herself. Young lady, you don't need to worry. ...Besides, it seems she's already made up her mind.'

The hummingbird casually dismissed his granddaughter's safety and shifted his gaze to the collapsed Shishimai. Following his gaze, Tamaki also looked at Shishimai and saw her shrugging her shoulders.

"...I'm just like this room now. A corpse, only moving with the remaining spiritual and youkai power. It won't last long."

"Shishimai-san..."

Shocked by what Shishimai implied, Tamaki could only murmur her name like incoherent babbling. Shishimai was further exasperated by her expression.

"It's only natural for the living to take precedence over the dead. Besides, there's no way this bear can carry three people, right? ...Thank you for freeing me from this d*mn place. Now, go quickly."

"...Thank you too for saving me."

'Go, Genbu. Run quickly.'

In response to Shishimai's gratitude, Tamaki conveyed her thanks with even deeper emotions, almost on the verge of tears. Seeing this, the hummingbird urged the bear impatiently. The bear youkai grunted and compensated for the wasted time, leaving the scene at full speed...

'...Still, it's an unusual thing to do, isn't it? I thought you would say something like a keepsake or a last wish.'

With the bear leading the way, the hummingbird remained, speaking to Shishimai Asami's "corpse" through its emotionless artificial eyes. Shishimai also smiled slightly at the slightly scornful remark.

"Isn't it absurd for the dead to leave keepsakes or last wishes? ...I'm the type to overthink things needlessly, you know."

Therefore, Shishimai decided not to curse her. Those who are bound and dragged by the dead have no bright future. Shishimai made that decision because she genuinely appreciated Tamaki's help.

Of course, in her heart, there were many lingering regrets... but it was wrong to involve others in her self-made predicament.

"You should go too, right? She'll need someone to give advice. Alone, she'll be eaten in no time."

'...I have my own reasons too. I'll do my best to help her get out of here.'

In response to Shishimai's bravado, the hummingbird bowed after a moment of silence and answered. Then, it took flight. To chase after Tamaki and the others who had left...

"That's good..."

With a mixture of disdain and gratitude in response to the hummingbird's reply, Shishimai muttered to herself. She gazed vaguely at the collapsing world as if lost in thought, closing her eyes to reminisce about something.

Then, after a while, she glanced in the direction Tamaki and the others had gone. Not a single soul remained there. She felt relief at that fact, but her heart was filled with loneliness.

"Hahaha... In the end, I'm alone..."

In the now empty room, in the crumbling world, Shishimai Asami spoke self-deprecatingly.

She genuinely thought that this was a fitting end for herself.

...