In Amamiya Rin's observation, the noose hanging beneath the head was like the flickering tongue of a venomous snake lying in wait, minutely adjusting its angle.
Then, it began to accelerate!
The Hanging Balloons plunged and glided downward at high speed, the lasso at its end tracing a smooth arc as it swung toward Fujino Terumi's neck.
The entire process was utterly silent, like a meticulously choreographed pantomime—and Fujino Terumi knew nothing of it.
She had even quickened her pace slightly, eager to get back inside to the warmth, never realizing that she was walking willingly into the noose of the Hanging Balloons.
"Bang!"
In that instant, the thunderous roar of a muzzle flash bursting into flame violently tore apart the stillness of the night!
The bullet left the barrel, slicing through the air, and along a precisely calculated trajectory it struck the midsection of that descending steel cable!
"Clang!!!"
Accompanied by a clap of metal-on-metal thunder, the enormous kinetic energy the bullet carried slammed ferociously into the steel cable. The lasso's path veered askew in an instant, like a venomous snake flicked away by a stick, and it flew past brushing right against Fujino Terumi's body.
"Aaah——!"
Fujino Terumi was utterly stunned. Instinctively she clutched her head and hunched her neck—this is the first reaction most people have upon hearing gunfire, but it was not the reaction Fujino Terumi should have made.
"Get up! Run!"
On the balcony, Amamiya Rin no longer concealed his figure. He braced the electromagnetic rifle against the railing and swiftly chambered a round. The low, resonant warning left Fujino Terumi without the slightest hesitation.
She didn't even spare a glance at what had happened, nor did she care about how she looked. She scrambled to her feet hurriedly and, in a posture that was practically a half-crawl, used both hands and feet to dash desperately toward the entrance of the apartment building!
In the air, that enormous Hanging Balloon paused slightly, thwarted by the attack.
That nylon face, identical to Fujino Terumi's, slowly turned around. Its hollow eyes locked onto the third-floor balcony from which the bullet had come. Amamiya Rin's figure appeared within its line of sight—along with that electromagnetic rifle of his.
On the balcony, Amamiya Rin's gaze was ice-cold, his breathing terrifyingly steady. His eyes were fixed dead on the slowly drifting balloon and its steel cable as his hands swiftly chambered another round.
"You actually fired a gun? I seem to recall that Japan is a country that bans firearms. Rin-kun, this isn't very nice, is it?"
The Hanging Balloon spoke in a voice identical to Fujino Terumi's, its tone no different from hers either.
"None of that matters. Those who accomplish great things don't fuss over trifles."
The round finished loading and chambered. Amamiya Rin leveled the muzzle at that enormous head and said calmly.
"Then can you sacrifice Fujino Terumi? My life is bound to hers—if you hit me, she'll die too."
The Hanging Balloon let out a few low chuckles, its gentle voice betraying a hint of malice. Yet its massive body showed not the slightest hesitation as it continued to pursue Fujino Terumi.
"Perhaps you don't believe me, but—are you willing to gamble? Willing to wager Fujino Terumi's life on it? If, in your eyes, Fujino Terumi's life carries so little weight, I'll be very pleased."
Unlike the Kayako of Ju-on or the Vampire-transformed Kawahara Miyuki, the Hanging Balloons were a highly intelligent curse. It was clever—it would even use Fujino Terumi's safety to intimidate Amamiya Rin, attempting to make him hesitate.
Just as Amamiya Rin knew, in the manga the Hanging Balloons would even cooperate with one another, exploiting the memories of their original selves to deceive and lure.
But Amamiya Rin gave no response, nor did he lower his gun. The index finger resting on the trigger likewise did not tremble in the slightest.
The Hanging Balloon assumed that Amamiya Rin had grown wary and dared not act rashly. It drifted swiftly toward Fujino Terumi, the steel cable below swaying faintly, preparing once again to swing toward her neck.
It was just like the ring-toss game at a roadside stall—except what it was tossing the ring over was Fujino Terumi's life.
"Bang!"
At that moment, the gunshot rang out again! Even more resolute than before!
At once, an extremely lifelike shock surfaced on the Hanging Balloon's face.
That expression was exactly like Fujino Terumi herself when startled, and its body shuddered violently from the sudden gunshot.
How could this be? How could Amamiya Rin have fired? Did he truly not fear killing Fujino Terumi?
For a moment, feelings of shock flooded the interior of the Hanging Balloon.
But it soon discovered something—it… could still think?
Which was to say, it hadn't been destroyed?
Coming back to its senses, the Hanging Balloon felt a surge of powerful kinetic energy pushing against its body.
"Clang——!"
Accompanied by a violent crash, its body seemed to take the impact, swinging sharply backward and drifting a full meter away.
Because the shot Amamiya Rin had fired naturally hadn't been aimed at the Hanging Balloon's head, but at the section of steel cable just below it. The close proximity transmitted the bullet's impact force from the cable to the head, successfully knocking the Hanging Balloon back without harming the vital part of its head.
"You…!"
The Hanging Balloon hadn't yet recovered from its fright. Amamiya Rin's marksmanship was simply too formidable—under the cover of night, holding a piece of scrap metal, hitting from dozens of meters away a steel cable that was only ten centimeters from the balloon and constantly swaying?
It would have been more believable for Amamiya Rin to be firing merely to intimidate it than for his aim to be this accurate.
"You fear death? And you possess the intelligence and logic to communicate?"
While making small talk with the Hanging Balloon, Amamiya Rin's fingers had already deftly ejected the spent casing and loaded a fresh round. His gaze was sharp as a blade, fixed tightly on the Hanging Balloon swaying faintly in the air.
"In other words, we have the basis for communicating with each other, correct?"
"Indeed, Rin-kun. Do you want to chat with me?"
The Hanging Balloon glanced at Fujino Terumi, who had already run far away, and realized that it likely had no chance to kill her this time either. Disappointed, it nonetheless didn't waste its effort giving chase. It drifted leisurely toward the third-floor balcony and spoke to Amamiya Rin in Fujino Terumi's tone.
"Of course. No matter what you ask me, I'll answer. After all, we're not only good friends—you're also my lifesaver."
"Truly, I can't feel any sincerity in that."
Amamiya Rin was unmoved, his gaze coldly stern as he watched the Hanging Balloon.
"The one I saved was Fujino Terumi, not you. And from your behavioral patterns, you shouldn't harbor any feelings of gratitude toward me either… Let me guess—you must want to bewitch me, and then find an opportunity to kill Fujino Terumi, right?"
"How could I do such a thing? I'm Fujino Terumi too. I have all her memories and her way of thinking. Though I'm going after her, there's a reason for that, and the only one I'm targeting is her. My mind still holds the memory and feelings of you saving me, so how could I bear any malice toward you? Look—even though you're already within my attack range, I have no intention of attacking you."
The Hanging Balloon complained to Amamiya Rin with indignation.
Had Amamiya Rin not remembered the manga's plot—knowing that a family's Hanging Balloons would cooperate to kill their own kin—he might really have believed it.
Could a single instance of being saved compare to the grace of being birthed and raised, to the bonds of family? If it would even kill its own family, would it care about him, a mere benefactor?
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🔥 New history: Path of Elation in Warhammer 40K
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