Machete Girl: Guys, can soone tell what this is? [Image]
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: A human corpse?
Doujin Artist: I’m eating, and you’re sending pictures full of gore?! Kotonoha-chan, I don’t like you anymore.
Machete Girl: Ah, sorry.
Curly-haired Guy: Are you kidding? A man-eating flower like you would be affected by sothing like that?
Doujin Artist: You’re the damn man-eating flower! Shut your stinking mouth!
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: "Shut your butt"... Does that an shut your farting mouth? I just learned a new phrase from Eriri.
Doujin Artist: I don’t create knowledge. I just move it around. But seriously, Kotonoha, did you go to a cri scene? Those villagers really are dead, huh?
She said she was eating and didn’t want to see anything bloody. But in reality, Eriri was staring at the picture while slurping down her ran.
Back in the day, she definitely didn’t have the stomach for this. But now, she was used to it.
Pretty Boy from Skull Island: That person died horribly. Their arms and legs were all cut off.
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Not just the limbs—even the teeth are gone. What kind of heartless monster does that?!
Machete Girl: Ahem, I did that.
Doujin Artist: ?
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Pfft!
Curly-haired Guy: Kotonoha-chan, that’s... unexpected. What kind of grudge did you have?
Machete Girl: No grudge. It tried to attack .
This is an Actor: "It"? So it wasn’t just a corpse, huh? And that blood—it’s already black and clotted, but sohow still moving.
Agakure Village’s Angel: As expected of Anran-san. I didn’t even notice that until now.
Soul Society’s Bad Guy: If the blood’s still flowing, that ans the body’s technically still alive. But judging by the wounds and the skin color, this person’s been dead for at least five days.
Machete Girl: Yeah! That’s exactly what I was wondering, so I brought it up in the group.
Right now, Katsura Kotonoha was standing next to a van.
Several onmyoji were gathered around her, so looking scared, others curious, as they stared at the strange corpse that had all four limbs destroyed.
Even in that state, the corpse was still desperately trying to move and attack.
But without its sharp teeth, its movents just looked ridiculous.
Doujin Artist: Don’t tell it’s a zombie?
Curly-haired Guy: Pfft! What’s next? Are you gonna say Kotonoha has a secret Umbrella Corporation base over there? What’s she working with, the T-virus or G-virus?
Doujin Artist: More like the idiot virus! Catch that and you’ll turn into a big dumbass like you!
This is an Actor: I don’t know if it’s a zombie, but it’s very possible it ca from so kind of mutation or infection. If I’m right, there’s definitely more than just this one.
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Don’t tell it’s so kind of mind-corrupting thing? Like a Cthulhu invasion?
Machete Girl: Ruiko-chan, please don’t scare like that.
Curly-haired Guy: Yeah, look how scared she is! Not everyone’s as fearless as , you know! Watch what you say!
Wig Guy: Gintoki, are you trying to find the entrance to the Other World again?
Curly-haired Guy: Nah, this ti it’s the Gate of Truth.
Doujin Artist: Pfft! Coward!
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Coward who still brags about being brave. Classic.
This is an Actor: Actually, just from this photo, we can tell sothing. The mutation from this infection isn’t too extre, so a Cthulhu-type origin is unlikely.
And none of the old stories passed around among the local espers over by Kotonoha’s area sound anything like Cthulhu either.
Machete Girl: That’s a relief.
She trusted Anran completely.
Even though Katsura Kotonoha had never said it out loud, deep down she already saw this young group leader as a light in her life.
If it hadn’t been for his help, she probably still wouldn’t be able to talk to people normally.
Whew.
Letting out a long breath, Katsura Kotonoha turned to look at her teammates.
"What now? What are we supposed to do?" Naoto held his head, shaking. "What even *is* this thing? How is this happening?"
"Calm down! Where’s your pride as an onmyoji?" Kira frowned and scolded him.
"This is way beyond what onmyoji can handle!" Naoto shouted, raising his head. "You saw it too! Our talismans didn’t do anything!"
"Well... that’s just because it’s a humanoid puppet," Sakazaki Yuki said quietly. "Its energy inside is so thin, it’s basically empty."
"What do you know?!" Naoto exploded, shouting, "Without talismans, how are we supposed to use our powers? This mission is—"
Shing.
Before he could finish, a cold flash of steel sliced past his face and hit the corpse behind him right in the head—splitting it clean in half.
Gulp.
Naoto’s eyes went wide as he swallowed hard.
A few strands of black hair, freshly cut, floated down from his forehead.
Shing.
Katsura Kotonoha slid her sword back into its sheath, face calm. "You all go back. I’ll handle the rest."
She turned and walked straight toward the deeper part of the mountains.
She wanted to see what this so-called infection really was.
And if no one did anything, more people would definitely get hurt.
That would go against everything Anran had taught her about what’s right.
"Miss Kotonoha, wait! I’m coming too!"
" too!"
Kazuko and Yukki Sakazaki quickly followed behind. Kira patted Naoto on the shoulder and said aningfully, "Let’s head back. You’re not cut out to be an onmyoji."
Damn it!
Naoto clenched his teeth, watching their backs as they walked farther and farther away. He wanted to run after them, but in the end, he couldn’t find the courage.
"Idiots, the whole lot of you! You’re all dead at!"
He finally let out his anger by shouting, then got back into the car. But he didn’t notice the dark fog slowly floating above his head.
That black mist seed to have a mind of its own, constantly shifting its shape. Then, without a sound, it began to spread, filling the entire car.
By the ti Naoto realized sothing was wrong, it was already too late. The thick black fog shot into both his body and the driver’s from all directions.
Their faces turned pale, their bodies trembled, like so invisible hand was choking them. Their mouths were wide open, but no sound ca out.
A mont later, everything inside the car went quiet again.
The dark mist slowly floated out of their bodies, gathered itself back together, and drifted off in the direction where Katsura and the others had gone.
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