Time rewound to shortly after Yukino left the cat house courtyard.
Recalling her recent encounter in the courtyard, Yukino's face still held a hint of shyness...
"Hiss~~~"
Suddenly, Yukino stumbled, her brain seemingly flooded with information. Her vision went dark, and, unable to stand steady, she instinctively grabbed a nearby lamppost.
"Mm~~"
After a long while, Yukino, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, rubbed her temples, feeling as if she had a long dream.
The dream was somewhat hazy, yet much more vivid than ordinary dreams that fade upon waking.
Several scenes within it, though seen through a fog, still left a deep impression on her.
'A very terrifying woman... And me... me and Hayashi!'
"Hayashi!"
Yukino unconsciously called out softly, her normally cool voice now surging with intense emotion. Those shadowy, silhouette-like memories bloomed on her face like a bleeding blush.
In her fragmented memories, Yukino didn't know that those moments at home, in the cinema, at the amusement park, on the Ferris wheel, and in the haunted house were actions taken while possessed by Tomie.
She only remembered a beautiful yet terrifying woman and... intimate moments with Hayashi.
'That... woman is... me.'
"Impossible!"
Yukino shook her head violently, her delicate eyelashes trembling fiercely, vehemently denying the thought—she absolutely refused to believe she would do such things.
"An illusion! It must be an illusion. It couldn't possibly be a prophecy, could it?"
Yukino's gaze sharply scanned her surroundings, trying to find the culprit who tampered with her memories. However... the quiet street was empty.
Until... a man and a woman suddenly appeared in Yukino's field of vision, causing her pupils to sharply contract.
That was!
An enchanting girl with an arrogant yet world-weary demeanor, followed by a man as humble as a fawning dog.
Her gaze swept past the humble man.
The very first moment Yukino's eyes landed on the woman.
'Pain!'
An inexplicable phantom pain erupted on her cheek, and an overwhelming fear instantly clutched at her heart, as if dragging her back to the despair of her first dungeon run, being chased by anomalies.
'She's the dangerous woman from the memory fragments!'
Although she couldn't recall the specific details, the blush that hadn't fully faded from Yukino's face had now completely turned to frost.
Her icy gaze locked onto the other party, and a primal killing intent instinctively surged within Yukino's heart!
'Should I believe these inexplicable memory fragments!?'
Yukino asked herself inwardly.
The suddenly appearing memories were indeed suspicious, but this thought only lasted for an instant.
Her gaze fell upon Tomie, and the instinctive revulsion left Yukino with no further hesitation.
When her gaze once again met Tomie's, that instinctive revulsion made her hesitate no longer.
Yukino chose to trust her intuition and attacked this woman who filled her with fear and loathing.
Never mind all that; she'd judge first. Under [Silent Judgment],
Clear malicious intent. No remorse.
Meeting these two prerequisites meant she wouldn't mistakenly kill an innocent person.
"Judge... count your sins!!"
As Yukino's cold and hateful words fell, Tomie, who was walking ahead, instantly froze into ice, then shattered into countless ice crystals, scattering in all directions.
Onto walls, streets, and roads.
"Tomie! Tomie!!!"
The sudden change before his eyes completely stunned the man. His beloved Tomie had turned into ice shards right before him.
The next second, his bloodshot eyes were fixed on Yukino—this cool-tempered girl dressed in a JK uniform.
The infatuation in his eyes for Tomie instantly twisted into a furious, protective rage. He roared like a wild beast whose mating attempt had failed:
"What did you do to Tomie?! I'll kill you!"
Amidst his roar, he lunged at Yukino, claws bared.
Unfortunately, even with his kidney-deficient body bursting with potential, he was facing Yukino.
"Ah—"
Bang!
Sidestep, knee kick, suplex—Yukino's movements were fluid and seamless, easily throwing the man to the ground.
This series of counterattacks was enough to prove that what Yukino Yukino used was by no means a "Thug's Excitement Punch."
Immediately after, Yukino delivered a hand chop to the man's nape.
But to her surprise, the man was completely unaffected, like a zombie. Even restrained on the ground, he struggled, attempting to bite her.
Left with no choice.
Crack! *4
Four crisp joint-snapping sounds exploded in succession as Yukino deftly dislocated his four limbs.
"Die! Die!!"
In this state, the man still stared madly at Yukino, his gaze filled with such deep-seated hatred that it sent a chill down her spine.
It wasn't fear, but rather alarm at his twisted state, comparable to a fanatical cultist.
'His state isn't normal, almost eerie?'
As her thoughts raced, for safety's sake, Yukino casually dislocated his jaw as well.
"Abba abba..."
The man's roars turned into muffled whimpers.
'I'll take him back to the bureau later to check...'
As she pondered, vengeful yet seductive voices suddenly surged from all directions:
"Why..."
"Why did you freeze me?"
"So cold, so painful!"
"You are so cruel!"
...The enchanting and pleasant yet scalp-prickling voices forced Yukino to shift her gaze from the man, only to discover with shock—
That woman who filled her with physiological revulsion!
That body, which had already turned into ice shards!
The ground and walls, previously covered in ice crystals, were now sprouting countless crimson blood vessels. They intertwined and writhed like an interstellar swarm, greedily devouring bricks and asphalt, spreading like a blood-red fungal mat, weaving a hellish scroll that shattered sanity, and advancing directly towards Yukino's feet!
And those voices... were actually coming from these blood vessels!?
"Another unkillable monster!"
Yukino's beautiful face turned slightly pale, a hint of trouble flashing across it, and she instinctively took half a step back.
"Tomie!! Tomie!!"
In stark contrast was the man's suddenly blazing frenzy.
Even with all his limbs disabled, he still used his core strength to writhe like a maggot, lunging towards the blood-and-flesh fungal mat.
Next, Yukino witnessed a horrifying scene:
The blood-and-flesh fungal mat seemed to have discovered food more nutritious than bricks and asphalt, as terrifying blood vessels grew and drilled into the man's skin.
Dense blood vessels writhed and twisted beneath his skin, like a feast of worms.
Terrifying, disgusting, horrifying—
These were Yukino's most direct feelings, yet they also confirmed the authenticity of the memory fragments.
Perhaps it really was a prophecy... and not an illusion caused by some demonic entity.
'But how could she have prophecies?'
Yukino didn't have time to dwell on this question.
In the blink of an eye, the man was completely swallowed by the fungal mat. One by one, Tomie's heads rose from the flesh, standing eerily like a hydra, and then more and more appeared.
The heads were small, only slightly larger than a snake's head, with cervical vertebrae winding like a snake's body, and dense blood vessels crudely hanging from the deep white bones, making them look chilling and terrifying.
Yet, her exquisitely beautiful face held a chilling beauty amidst the grotesqueness.
Terror and exquisite beauty intertwined,
Hell and paradise coexisted.
Editor's Notes:
Shout out to Tyrone_Robinson for reminding me to update this fanfic.
As for the reason for this sudden disappearance… On 12 March I was hit by a massive headache… The kind that ache when you move your head faster than a sloth. On 13 March that headache was gone…. So, I take revenge by playing games all day…and forget to update. (๑>•̀๑)