I Became the Final Subjugation Target of That Era’s Light Novel

Sometimes, you just want to give up and die when life gets too hard.

When the work is too tough and the human relationships you’ve been holding onto vanish due to something that’s not even your fault. When the job you clung to as hope turns out to be the subject of gossip by others later on.

Due to the nature of my job, I found myself in situations where dying was a real option quite often.

Some people said I was doing well, while others called me reckless, but the truth is, I never jumped into this with the intention of doing my best.

After all, all you see when you live is a dark future ahead.

Isn’t it better to leap into a fire and just see what happens?

Even if I die, wouldn’t people be sad about it?

That seemed to be my thought process.

But somehow, time and time again, I entered the thick of things and somehow managed to come back alive.

When I get into that hot spot, and face the flame that almost scorches my face, those kinds of thoughts start flooding in.

Damn it, I don’t want to die here like this.

I don’t even remember why I thought that.

But I managed to leap back out, live on. Jump back into the situation. Come out again.

I must have repeated it enough times for it just to end like this.

…Is this a lamp of judgment?

My vision was hazy. Maybe I was losing a bit too much blood.

Honestly, I still feel that way now.

I followed a kid named Miura here, not knowing how to fight at all.

Even after sending Miura off, I was left helpless, just taking hits.

Underlying that action was probably a thought of, “I might as well just die.”

Yet again, this is what happened.

Once this situation occurred, I couldn’t help but think about the handful of sandy grains I had left.

I had just been reborn into this world.

Yeah, I wanted to try living abroad, didn’t I?

Now that I think about it, there were quite a few places I wanted to travel to.

Right. Damn it, I can’t die like this in such a place.

Time would take care of me eventually.

“Go on, child. Go, slay. Make me happy.”

A whisper echoed in my ear.

Thud!

The blood-soaked sword dropped to the ground, making a metallic sound.

It’s made of blood, yet it sounds like metal—what a joke.

Well, since blood contains iron, maybe that makes sense.

I gathered strength in my arms.

“What the hell? What are you? Who even are you?”

Good question.

Taking a breath, I thought carefully.

…Maybe my soul had become ensnared by something created by a higher-dimensional being.

I still don’t know why, though.

I wiggled my fingers.

There were no wounds.

Even in the pentagram on my wrist that had opened like flower petals, the pure white skin remained intact.

No, wait, the top was stained red with blood.

The voice that had echoed in my ear was now gone.

Hah, hah.

Exhaling, I bent my body. With trembling hands, I picked up the bloody sword.

It seems like a Japanese sword, perhaps called a katana. There appears to be a classification for it, but as of now, that’s irrelevant.

“Are you trying to kill me? When did you even pull that out?”

The creature spoke.

“You’re really annoying.”

What a terrible tone.

Don’t drag out your words with a raspy voice; I want to slay you.

“By the way, do you know? You can’t kill me.”

Hehehe.

The creature laughed.

I gripped the hilt of the sword tightly with both hands. I had never learned kendo or anything like it, but anything is better than being unarmed.

If I just swing it like a club, I should be able to manage.

“You, you, you. It wasn’t as tasty as I expected. That blood. What is it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hmm, you don’t know, huh?”

The creature tilted its head.

“Well, I can still call an exorcist. I guess I’ll have to kill you.”

“Give it a try.”

The creature laughed again.

And then, without warning, it lunged at me.

The way it flew towards me without any preparation was grotesque.

Its mouth nearly split to the ears, exposing sharp teeth on the ceiling and floor.

I swung the sword wildly.

Gack!

The side of the creature’s mouth tore further. Blood splattered. It was red like a human’s blood.

“What the—!?”

Before the creature could say anything, I brought the sword down again.

“Ah, damn!”

Once.

“It hurts!”

Twice.

“It hurts! It hurts! What the hell are you!?”

Three, four, five times—

The sword hit unnaturally well, not getting caught on anything.

Even as the creature opened its mouth toward me, I swung down again. The sword embedded in its upper lip, tearing through gums and leaving a large hole between its teeth. Pink flesh was ragged, blood splattered everywhere.

Even as it reached out its hand towards me, I swung down. Fingers were severed. Even if there are bones inside, the creature’s arm severed like jelly. As it screamed and flailed its arms, blood splattered onto me.

The wailing that threatened to tear my ears apart slowly subsided as I continued to swing. Finally, when there was nothing but silence, I could hardly remember what the creature’s face looked like initially.

Its face was still swollen. But where exactly were its eyes, where did its nose go?

What shape had its mouth been, and how were its teeth organized?

There would be no way to recognize this corpse just by looking at it.

Blood, fat, and flesh filled the alleyway. On the walls, on the floor, on my school uniform.

Suddenly, I regained my senses, and the sun was shining down from above. The sunlight that had seemed strange in the alleyway was now slowly filtering in.

Slowly, smoke began to rise from the chunks of flesh, evaporating as if.

Ugh!

And only then did I come to my senses.

I dropped the sword I had been holding.

Not because of the corpse. More accurately, I couldn’t believe that I had created that corpse.

It wasn’t a person… but still.

As my tension lifted, my legs gave way, realizing I had just fought for my life. If I had died, I wouldn’t have just died. Parts would be chewed and swallowed, leaving nothing but my corpse sprawled around casually.

Ugh!

I heaved a bitter wave of vomit. The expensive desserts I just had flowed out, and it was such a waste.

I collapsed to the side.

I had no strength left in my body.

“Kurosawa!”

I heard someone calling from afar. A voice coming from outside the alley.

Miura’s voice.

Ah, Miura is alive.

I stopped the serial murder. That thought crossed my mind.

As a girl and two adults finally revealed themselves outside the alley, I finally lost consciousness.

*

When I woke up, I was in a hospital.

“Kurosawa?”

It seemed like Miura, who had been next to me since I collapsed, called out my name.

“…Miura.”

I said that, groaning as I tried to sit up. My hand hurt. But upon looking, there didn’t seem to be any visible wounds.

“What happened?”

Miura asked with a worried expression.

“What do you mean?”

“When I took the police, there was only you in the alley. That man was gone too.”

“……”

I looked down at my hands.

The sensation of swinging the sword wasn’t vivid… It was a memory, yet it felt distant, like a dream. As if I had woken up briefly in the middle of the night and then drifted back to sleep.

“Blood…?”

“On your hands, Kurosawa.”

On my hands.

Even though blood had splattered everywhere in that alley.

…Ah, is that so?

This description existed in the original work as well.

Yōkai corpses can’t remain in reality for long.

Yōkai establish nests in reality to find “food”, growing stronger while consuming their prey, slowly expanding their territory.

Nests are maintained by the yōkai’s power, and when a yōkai dies, the nest collapses too. The corpses left in reality will soon evaporate without a trace.

The blood and guts all came from the yōkai’s body.

But my blood, no…

I hurriedly searched my body.

Regardless of whether I knew or not, if an ordinary person fell from a height of about two stories, there would surely be some broken bones upon hitting a hard wall. I know that quite well from seeing various falling incidents.

However, aside from being incredibly tired, I had no injuries at all.

“…Could it be that man…?”

Miura said with a pained expression.

I almost got eaten. Physically.

But I can’t say that.

I understood what Miura was thinking. Surely she was worried that something inappropriate happened to me.

There exist such yōkai, after all.

But at least the yōkai I met today wasn’t that kind of fierce one.

Knock.

While I pondered on how to respond, someone knocked on the hospital room door.

… Uh, wait a minute.

Isn’t this a private room?

I hadn’t realized it while trying to comprehend my situation, but this was a surprisingly expensive-looking single room.

My heart rate began to rise significantly.

How much is it to stay here per day?

Would Japan’s health insurance cover this? Oh, but doesn’t the single room not qualify? Is it out-of-pocket?

The knocker opened the door without bothering to wait for an answer.

“Kurosawa-san—oh, you’re awake!”

Cautiously opening the door was a young woman. She seemed to be about the same age as Suzuki-sensei. Although she was in casual clothes, her aura suggested she was probably a police officer.

I hadn’t seen her in the illustrations of the novel.

Following her was a sharp-looking male who also had a police-like vibe. He looked quite young as well.

“I’m sorry. This might be a little uncomfortable, but I need to talk to you about what happened today. Miura-chan, could you step outside for a moment?”

“Ah, okay.”

Miura quickly responded and got up from her seat—then she turned back toward me and placed her hand lightly on my arm.

“Kurosawa, hang in there.”

“…Okay.”

Not sure how to respond to that, I merely nodded and gave a short answer.

Miura added a little pressure on the hand she placed on my arm before letting go, slightly bowed to the two police officers, and quietly left the room, closing the door behind her.

“…Hoo.”

The young woman let out a sigh, then approached me.

“May I sit down?”

“…Yes.”

I nodded.

The woman carefully took a seat and pulled out a business card from her suit jacket pocket.

Then, holding it with both hands politely, she handed it to me.

“My name is Tatsumi Tomoko.”

“…I’m Kurosawa Koto Ne.”

As she suddenly switched to polite language to give me her business card, I followed suit when saying my name. The woman named Tatsumi Tomoko smiled slightly at me.

I looked at the business card she handed over.

[Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Criminal Investigation Division, Sex Crime Investigation Section, Detective Tatsumi Tomoko (巽方知子)]

Told you so.

I felt a slight headache coming on.

Well, considering there was no corpse left, it can’t be classified as murder, and seeing my collapse after vomiting at the crime scene, it was obvious what they would think.

A man lured a high school girl into a secluded spot and attempted to assault her.

It’s only logical to think that way.

“Well then, Kurosawa-san.”

Tatsumi cautiously asked.

“Do you remember anything from today’s incident? Even the smallest detail would be helpful.”

“……”

I fumbled with the business card, pondering how to navigate this situation.

The conclusion came quickly.

“I don’t remember anything.”

“I see.”

Right, just insist that you don’t remember anything. There’s really no evidence on their end anyway.

It wasn’t like anything really happened, so it would be fortunate if they simply went along with my story.

Tatsumi turned to the male officer, seemingly lost, but soon realized digging deeper wouldn’t be beneficial.

“Then, if you recall something later, could you please contact me at this number on the business card? Calls, texts, or emails will be fine.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

I nodded, relieved that this conversation didn’t escalate further than it already had.

*

Fortunately, it seems that Miura took care of the hospital bills.

Moreover, she even brought my school uniform in the same size I wore. The one I was in yesterday was too tattered and stained with blood to wear again. I’m really grateful for it.

I had no injuries, so I hurriedly discharged myself the next morning.

The previous day, Miura suggested it would be wise for me to recuperate for a few more days, but that made me feel a bit guilty. Above all, staying too long would probably expose that I had no guardian to take care of me.

I didn’t want to go to a care home. Physically I’m a high school girl, but mentally I’m an independent adult man; I figured I’d rather have a little freedom, even if it meant I was broke.

While Miura was safe from today’s incident… Unfortunately, it seems this has left quite a significant trauma for her too.

Would she think it was her fault for leaving me behind and things ended up this way? Thinking logically, that’s a reasonable conclusion.

“…Hah.”

As soon as I entered my room, I tossed my bag haphazardly into the corner.

Unfortunately, without any bookshelf, the textbooks piled there toppled over, but I didn’t have the energy to fix it.

Although my body was fine, my mental stamina had reached its limit.

I laid flat on the bare floor, staring at the ceiling.

The snoring from next door that I could hear at night wasn’t audible at this hour. Maybe they went out for work.

“……”

I raised my wrist to observe it.

The pentagram engraved there remained intact. I had once been bitten by the creature yesterday, and it had torn me open in a petal shape.

Yet, there was no trace of a scar or even a wound that needed treatment.

So… Could it be that the blood flowing here is the summoning condition for something?

To create a sword, or to communicate with that ‘female’ entity.

‘Female’… I think I understand that. It’s likely this term is less about a personal name and more about a pronoun.

In Japanese manga or anime, it’s not unusual for high-ranking characters to refer to themselves as ‘she’.

It implies a sufficiently elevated being.

In a world where yōkai appear, it probably indicates yōkai from overseas, rather than those of Japan.

I wouldn’t even have to think hard about where it’s from.

It’s obviously the Cthulhu Mythos.

Back then, there were probably copyright issues, so they twisted names around, but maybe the author wanted to maintain some originality.

“……”

I’m not sleepy, but should I try to get some rest?

After all, there’s nothing to do while lying here.

*

Surprisingly, I fell asleep faster than I thought I would, given that I wasn’t tired.

What woke me up was the sound of someone knocking on the door.

“Eh?”

Wait a minute.

Who could be knocking?

Wasn’t there no one who knew Kurosawa Koto Ne?

Looking out the window, I saw the sky was quite dim.

Could someone really be looking for me at this hour?

Knock, knock, knock.

Since I returned during daytime, I hadn’t bothered to turn on the light.

Luckily, the sun hadn’t completely set yet, so the light coming in through the window was a faint blue, but the entrance where it was half-open showed a darkness that was horrid.

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked again.

Isn’t that just like the opening of a horror story?

Had it been the sound of a bell in a Korean-style apartment, I wouldn’t have felt so eerie.

As I seriously contemplated whether to go out or not—

“…Kurosawa-san?”

A cautious voice emanated from the entrance.

“……”

This voice… I recognized it.

Slowly rising from my seat, I made my way to the entrance.

Click.

As I flicked the switch, the flickering fluorescent light in the entrance and kitchen illuminated the space.

When I opened the door to the entrance—

“…Ah, Kurosawa-san?”

Standing outside the door was Suzuki-sensei.

“Sensei?”

I blinked as I looked up at Suzuki-sensei.

Suzuki-sensei seemed flustered, unsure about how to process the situation.

“…May I come in?”

“Ah, thank you.”

Suzuki-sensei almost hurriedly stepped through the door, as if she thought I might retract my words at any second.

I closed the entrance and locked the door by habit before moving back into my room.

Oh, I forgot to turn on the light.

I flicked the switch again, and just like the entrance, the room’s fluorescent light flickered on.

In this small single room, there were bags haphazardly stuffed in the corner, filled with bean sprouts and plastic bags from Koppepan.

Books were piled without a shelf, and I even threw my bag around when entering, causing those books to roll all over the place.

Without a closet or anything, the cheap underwear and T-shirts I bought were strewn all over the floor.

…

I turned back to look at Suzuki-sensei.

She was standing frozen, looking extremely shocked, unable to cross the line separating the entrance and the room.

…Maybe I shouldn’t have let her in after all?

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