Mob Yandere

[Part 3/5]

"Your talent, on the other hand, is both frustrating and detestable. It's the real deal. Even now, there are probably only about five individuals who could restrain you if you were at your best. Truly a terrifying thought."

"Head of the Servant! What do you mean by 'frustrating——"

Before the pharmacist could interrupt, he was dead. In one swift motion of the spear, his head cleanly separated from his body. A beautiful cross-section was created as blood spurted out, forming a fountain that sprayed in all directions. It splattered on the servant, the head of the servant, and even a few drops landed on Aoi's cheek. The headless corpse collapsed right next to the servant.

"Ah... Ah..."

"Thanks for your hard work as my watchdog, huh? I bet you thought you'd be off duty once the mission was over, right? I get it, you know? I had similar thoughts too. See, it's like this."

Ignoring Aoi's stunned expression, Takaragen spoke to the lifeless corpse. He then turned his gaze towards Ebisu-masked men, which seemed to be controlled like a puppet on strings.

"St-Stop——"

"Die, you small fishes!"

Even though the servant at his feet groaned and tried to stop him, it was futile. Two heads near Aoi were crushed like bugs. Furthermore, the other Ebisu-masked men surrounding them were instantly consumed by a storm of blazing flames. Incinerated. It was the work of basic Fire Release spiritual techniques. However, the power behind it was far from basic.

"...With this, those bothersome folks are gone. Now, let's get to the main point, shall we?"

"Wha...!?"

Cracking his knuckles and whistling, Takaragen grabbed Aoi's face, forcing her to look at him. He looked down on her, compelling her to submit.

"The contract is like this. If you give me your body, your heart, and your talent as my slave, I'll promise to extend your life. Let's say, for five years at first, and then I'll decide whether to kill you or not based on your performance. ...Don't you think that's much better than rotting away in this deep forest? And you have no other way to survive, right?"

The head of the servant said, threatening, or rather, advising her. And Aoi's clever mind understood that it was the truth.

But that meant giving up her entire life to someone else, and betraying her father's trust. And, more than anything...

"..."

She looked away. She saw the servant being trampled on. There was a young man who was miserable and pitiful beyond words. His whole body was covered with rags, wounds, and bruises. He was barely breathing. He didn't seem to have any chance of turning the situation around. At least, not to her.

"..."

Aoi thought. She thought of her best judgment. She thought of her choice to survive. That choice was, that choice was...

"Prin... cess..."

"Tomobe..."

However, Aoi was responding to the murmurings of a miserable loser who was breathing his last breath to himself. His arm stretched out. His trembling fist reached for her place....

"Mind your own business, you outsider!!"

"Ggh!?"

His fist was stomped on with force. A nasty sound was heard. At least it must have cracked. Aoi gasped. It was not a sight that was unfamiliar to her. The fate that awaited her when she rejected the proposal, this is a glimpse of it....

"...Well. Shall I hear your answer? Princess?"

"..."

Ignoring the worm at his feet, Takaragen asked again. Onitsuki Aoi was brought back to reality and forced to make a decision. She thought, she thought, and she thought. Then, she came to a conclusion.

"...I see. It would be the most reasonable thing to accept your proposal here, right?"

"Of course it is. Then, let's make a contract..."

"I refuse."

"Huh?"

The head of the servant, who was about to prepare for the contract, glared at Aoi's rejection.

"Sh*tty brat. Do you know your position... do you understand the situation?"

"Yeah. Of course. That's what I'm saying... Don't lay a finger on me, you filthy wretch!"

In the face of Aoi's contempt, Takaragen's anger reached its peak.

"You've got some nerve!! Well, fine. As you wish, I'll give you a taste of hell before I kill you!! But first——what the!?"

Takaragen, who had been focused on Aoi all this time, finally noticed the sound. The actions of the servant at his feet. A servant with a small flute in his mouth. A youkai flute taken from his servant's pocket. Without caring about the pitch, he blew it in one go.

"What...!?"

Unable to grasp the intention behind it, but before he could think, his body was already moving towards the best course of action. He immediately tried to tear the servant's mouth apart with his spear, but it was too late. Before that, they had reacted.

Two corpses, crouching on Aoi's left and right, their heads crushed like bugs. From their bellies, something leaped out. They tear their stomachs, revealing obscene heads, and they aimed in the direction of the performer, and jumped out!

"Take this Harabote chest-buster...!!"

The servant, who managed to escape from the feet of the attacking Takarage, spat out insults that he alone would understand in this situation.

* * *

"Harabote Chest Buster"... This description was used by fans in the original work "Firefly of the Dark Night" to describe an entity that was utilized in a conspiracy to trap the protagonist. It appeared in the story as a means to plunge the protagonist into despair, emerging from the belly of Ayaka Onitsuki in a literal sense.

...From this wording, you can probably imagine who the mastermind behind the conspiracy would be. And when I saw Ebisu-masked men's face from a distance, that possibility briefly crossed my mind. And when I closed in on them to take their spear, I became certain. That presence is a being that bears an uncanny resemblance to "him"... It is essentially the same entity, with the only difference being the pattern on its back.

It is no longer a matter of being too late from the beginning.

"Please forgive me..."

Even so, it is not right to humiliate a corpse. It is not right to exploit it. But... If there is no other way, please, what else can I do?

...Ah, I understand. It's just an excuse, isn't it?

"...Sigh, there's no use complaining, you know!"

I set aside all the emotions inside me. It's fine for now. It's still fine, more importantly, I have an immediate mission to accomplish. All emotions had to be put aside for now. With such a sentimental attitude, the current situation is not something that can be easily overcome.

"But it's surprising how knowledge of the original work can come in handy in a place like this...!"

I murmured while looking at the flute in my hand. It resembled the one used in the original work to gang-r**e Ayaka. I didn't know if it was the same one or if it even mattered. The only thing that mattered was that its usage was the same, and that was fortunate.

In the original work, Onitsuki Ayaka was taken over by a parasitic turtle-faced bug and turned into a puppet, subjected to an R-18 by innocent ordinary people. On top of that, the same bug was attached to her face, and a lively Buster-kun was inserted into her belly.

And in the original work, one of the ways to control Chest-kun and its friends was to use a flute. In the novel version, there was a little more explanation... If it was a complex command, it required a suitable skill from the player, but if it was simple like "kill him", the way to instruct was easy. Just stare at the target, and blow hard. That was enough. This was the result. I escaped from the feet with all my strength, using a medicine that made me not feel pain and I hid in one of the bushes.

Two monsters with the size of monkeys jumped out of the corpse's belly. They aimed at him with strange agility, and still toyed with him. Even that Takaragen looked like he was having trouble to regain his posture, after being attacked from close range. Or maybe he didn't know about this hidden card, judging from his surprise when they jumped out? Maybe it was for silencing him after the matter was over.

"But, it still lacks the finishing blow, huh?"

Maybe if I included the ones that were burned, they could have killed him. With two, they could only toy with him, but they didn't look like they could finish him off. Rather, little by little... he was pushing them back!?