Volume 5 - CH 5.2

Red parasols blossomed, forming a circle on the white sand. Rows of crimson reminiscent of a flower path. The color, red as blood, stood out vividly under the overcast skies. More than a hundred parasols were arranged in a spiral. In the center of it all stood a black figure.

Mayuzumi Azaka was looking at the sky, dressed in all black.

Her hat was adorned with red flowers, the only thing that distinguished her outfit from mourning clothes.

She did not grieve over the dead. I knew that all too well.

For Mayuzumi Azaka, a person’s death, including her own, was not worth mourning.

But I was different. Death, to me, was terribly heavy. Heavier than anything else.

I wasn’t sure if I could maintain that belief after today.

I was going to kill a person.

It didn’t feel real. It was like my body was floating in the air. I couldn’t even think about what on earth I was trying to do.

I’d been sitting on the porch of the Mayuzumi clan’s house for a while now, watching the garden. A group of attendants in black were silently arranging the parasols, perhaps following some sort of custom. I was killing time, watching them wriggling like ants.

I thought back to what happened the other day. Kotori and Shizuki were sent back to their respective homes. My wish to talk to them again was not granted. Would the broken Shizuki ever recover? Would Kotori, possessed by rage, ever wallow in regret? I pressed my aching head. I felt sick at my own powerlessness.

I studied my stitched palm again. Shaking my head, I shifted my gaze.

I didn’t feel like touching my tea. The sweets on the plate looked ridiculous to my eyes. While waiting for the ritual to be ready, I worked my dumb brain hard.

I remembered that moment again. Memories I had locked away in a corner of my mind came crashing back.

Standing in the red sea, I pointed a gun at the fox. The anger, tension, and fear that I felt the moment I put my finger on the trigger filled my mind. I tried to kill him, but I couldn’t. And then I left him in the red sea… practically killing him.

I ran away.

I ran and ran and ran—until he caught up to me.

The conclusion was simple.

I should have killed him with my own hands.

I should not have turned my back on him.

“Odagiri-kun.” Mayuzumi beckoned me over.

I got up and went to her side. Mayuzumi looked up at me from under her parasol. She took out a bundle from a leather bag in her hand and gave it to me.

“Use it,” she said.

Inside was a gun and a holster. There was also spare ammunition. I grasped the gun tight. It brought back memories. It looked like the same type of gun that Higasa had.

“You already know how to use it. With this, you can easily kill even an esper. He’s probably conscious, but I doubt he can move. You shouldn’t miss.”

If the fox couldn’t move, a blade would do the job better. But she probably thought I’d be less reluctant with this. It’s not every day you hold a gun.

I silently put the holster on my belt. I inserted the pistol and grasped the grip. Slowly, I let go and turned to Mayuzumi.

She regarded me with crystalline eyes. “Changed your mind? I know. The spirit world is an ocean that swallows everything. I can manipulate it as I wish, but it’s not the best place to kill someone directly. Still, I should be the one doing this.”

I shook my head. Mayuzumi Azaka and the fox had a history. The fox was a monster born from the twisted customs of the Mayuzumi clan.

But if it weren’t for me, Mayuzumi wouldn’t attempt to kill the fox. She would let the monster in Yuri’s belly be born. Even if it resulted in her being eaten alive by it, she would not have complained. She chose this method precisely because she had me to use.

And I didn’t blame her either.

I was the one who despised the fox.

I was also the one who tried to kill him.

And I was also the one who failed.

“It’s fine, Mayu-san. I’ll go.”

It didn’t feel real. It all seemed like a nightmare. But I had to do it.

I could only say this now. I left everything in the air back then.

I relied on Mayuzumi, allowed myself to just drift in the waves.

I left the fox behind without sorting out my emotions.

I had to go again.

“Please wait for me,” I muttered weakly.

Mayuzumi would not wait for me. What was I even saying? I was going to kill someone. Wait for what?

I shook my head. I didn’t want to interrupt the ritual, so I turned back.

“Very well,” she said dispassionately.

I looked over my shoulder.

Under her parasol, Mayuzumi was smiling.

Wearing a gentle look, she said, “I will wait for your return.”

I nodded, then turned back around.

I sat back down on the porch and waited for preparations to be done. Watching the black figures stir, I caught my breath.

The red hue stung my eyes. The parasols lined up in a row reminded me of the sea of flowers.

It wasn’t long before the spirit world opened up once more.

Pop.

The parasol in Mayuzumi’s hand snapped open.

On the white, sandy ground stood parasols arranged in a long spiral, and in the center of them all stood Mayuzumi. From above, it would’ve seemed as if red paint had been applied over white fabric. It might’ve even looked like a vibrant serpent.

And the figure in black standing at the center was the eye.

Holding a parasol in one hand, Mayuzumi spun as if dancing. The parasol drew an elegant arc, swaying silently amidst the tense atmosphere.

Its contours momentarily blurred.

The parasol doubled, tripled. Mayuzumi’s movements were slow, but the parasol looked as if it were spinning rapidly, producing red afterimages. One, two, three red trails hung in the air. A red band surrounded Mayuzumi’s body. Twirling her parasol round and round, she surrounded herself with afterimages.

Pop.

Abruptly, the parasols on the ground moved. The tip of the vortex, the parasol farthest from Mayuzumi, closed. It didn’t fall over, but instead stood on its leg. Mayuzumi continued to dance. Another sound disturbed the fleeting silence.

Pop.

The next parasol closed. And then the next one, all closing in succession. Faster and faster they snapped shut, standing on their legs. They seemed like flowers turning back into buds.

Pop, pop, pop.

The parasol at Mayuzumi’s feet closed. They looked like red needles drilled into the ground. In the middle of the needles, Mayuzumi twirled the parasol in her hand rapidly. A red trail hung mid-air, and the air was torn asunder. Suddenly, Mayuzumi froze, pointing at the sky. A red shadow fell over Mayuzumi’s dark silhouette.

Pop.

Her own parasol closed, its tip pointed straight at the sky. Then, the air became tense. Starting from Mayuzumi, it thickened and thickened.

I looked at the sky with wide eyes. Gray and slightly overcast, it emitted an odd pressure. It was as if something was approaching Mayuzumi’s head. Something hard and invisible just barely within reach.

It felt as though the air had frozen and turned to glass.

A parasol had pierced through the sheet.

The next instant, Mayuzumi opened it.

Pop.

Crash.

It sounded like a scream. I covered my ears; I thought my eardrums would burst. But the sound was not coming from the real world. As the ghostly wail rang out, the parasols opened one after another.

Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.

This time, the opposite happened, and the red spiral was reformed at rapid speed. Standing in the middle, Mayuzumi rested her parasol on her shoulder. I studied the sight beyond fearfully.

The sky had split open. There was no other way to describe it.

The boundary with the spirit world, hidden behind the corporeal, had been destroyed. The center of the cracked sky was shattered. I glimpsed a fleshy red color between the torn clouds, like a hole in a stomach. It brought to mind internal organs. Once inside, there would be no way to get out.

Something red appeared before it, jumping from the red ground. Graceful fins flapped in the air. Like a loyal dog, a goldfish leapt up in front of Mayuzumi.

It was the goldfish created using Mayuzumi’s blood. It had been in the spirit world ever since the incident with the fox.

“Follow this little fellow,” she said. “If you do, you won’t get lost. You will make it straight to the fox.”

In response to Mayuzumi’s voice, the goldfish turned its back to me. Its tail fin flipped softly as if it were swimming underwater. Rising to my feet, I fell in beside Mayuzumi and looked up at the sky.

The hole seemed so far away, but when I stretched out a hand, I felt a wet sensation. My hand was halfway buried in the red wall. It was like an optical illusion. My depth perception was off. I pulled my hand out and turned to face Mayuzumi. She wasn’t looking at me. Her eyes were fixed on the rift to the spirit world.

“Once you’re in, the hole will close,” she said. “I’ll open it again upon your return.”

I looked into the pulsating interior. The goldfish looked back at me silently.

I sensed no fear. Just an odd feeling in my chest, almost like sadness. I felt as if I were throwing away something precious. After checking my holstered gun, I started walking.

“I’m off,” I said.

I leapt and fell into the spirit world. My shoulder slammed on the red ground. It was hard as glass, despite pulsating just moments ago.

Clack.

I turned around. The rift was closing, a wall of red flesh crawling to cover it. Web-like cracks ran across the wall.

Clack.

The cracks on the wall had been repaired. Turning my back to the undamaged wall, I looked around. The goldfish stopped in front of me, then swam gracefully.

Its tail flipped. The red shape advanced through the flesh-colored space.

To my left was a huge wall. Reminiscent of human intestines, it wriggled and vanished as soon as the goldfish neared it. The red space changed its shape constantly. It warped, swelled, never remaining the same. Following the goldfish, I studied the ground. My every step created glassy ripples that froze.

Uka squealed in delight at being here. But she didn’t leave my belly. Stroking my stomach gently, I continued on.

I proceeded deeper and deeper into the spirit world.

Go down to where the fox was.

Descending to the bottom of the spirit world was like falling into the depths of the underworld.

I came here to kill him.

Yet it felt like I was going to fetch the dead.