Mayuri's Hell (3)
"No way, our Nao is super independent! She had a job even before meeting me! She was living alone! She's just broke 'cause she's a fresh grad, but she could totally go independent anytime!"
I yelled at the hallucination Nao right in front of me.
"Don't badmouth Nao! You're totally misinterpreting her character! You're a total noob!"
"I don't think so?"
The hallucination Nao tilted her head.
"In the end, humans can't understand each other, right? We're strangers, aren't we? Ever thought maybe you don't know me?"
She's really going there. She's just forcing this situation to scare me. You think I'd be afraid of something like this?
"You're clueless when it matters, sis. Whatever, doesn't matter. I've got the upper hand."
The hallucination Nao approached. She leaned in close, locking eyes with me.
"You've got two choices, sis. Accept everything and become a vampire, or become my familiar."
"……."
"Keep refusing, and I'll make you my familiar anyway. Then I'll pamper you forever."
With that, she climbed on top of me. Y'know, the yandere type. As a fellow otaku, I kinda like 'em in fiction. Back in the day, I produced Okuma Mayu in that mobile rhythm game. Got her fanbase to 5 million before quitting... But they say yanderes are only fun in subculture. In real life, they're a nightmare. Especially trapped and immobilized like this. Scary...
"Mi... "
"Mi?"
"Miss Girl Slash."
Carnival Chef Bond Effect triggered.
Crack! I swung my hand like a blade at the chair, shattering it completely. Nao, who had been leaning in to bite my neck, toppled over with the momentum.
"Ack...!"
"Don't spout that crap again! I know Nao better than you do!"
I shouted, scrambling to my feet and bolting for the door. I grabbed the handle.
Click-click. The door wouldn't budge. There were five locks on it.
"This is insane..."
Up until now, it was all atmosphere-based horror. Why switch to physical confinement thriller now? I'd already used my Lisa Bond Effect—what now? Jump out the window?
As I glanced at the window—
Click, click, click, click, click. The locks started unlocking one by one.
Huh? What the—?
Creeeak. The door swung open suddenly.
Beyond it... was me.
"C'mon, get out."
The "me" outside grabbed my hand and pulled me out.
Thud! I fell flat on my butt, tumbling across the floor. Ow, that hurts... Blinking back tears from the unexpected pain, I forced my eyes open.
The first thing I saw was the light. A ping-pong ball-shaped glow. Staring at that intense light, I thought: No matter how many times I return to reality, this light never fades. Perfect sign that I'm back for real.
I exhaled heavily and pushed myself up. Even without the light, I could see it now—the massive spider hacking and coughing.
─Ah
─You survived again?
The spider glared at me after coughing a few times.
─Become one
─Become one
─Become one
─Become one with us
─Cute Mayuri
─So cute I wanna stuff you in my belly
"...I said no. Respect my self as an individual and my freedom."
I knew it was pointless, but I had to say it.
"We've been through this so many times—figure it out already... You can't eat me."
─How long can you last?
─How long can a human mind endure?
─Can you last this time too?
The spider gaped its maw and swallowed me again.
"Mayuri-nim, sorry. But you lied to me."
I faced monster Lisa, gripping her kitchen knife with murderous intent.
But now I knew better. I'd lived with Lisa long enough.
"Lisa won't kill me."
"……."
"The Carnival Chef only uses murderers as ingredients. So this doesn't scare me."
I desperately fled from Lisa after that, but somehow survived. Unable to digest me, the "Assimilate" puked me out again.
Sliding through its esophagus, I was spat back into reality once more.
─Become one.
A monster that never gives up. Or maybe it can't, because it's a monster. Like the "Hunting Dog" from Cthulhu mythos—infamously relentless. Maybe it doesn't even know the concept of quitting, or gets no boredom from repetition.
Whatever. I got swallowed again.
"Mayuri-ssi, is this all you've got? I didn't wanna say it, but come on, be a person."
In one hallucination, I was slaving away at a black company.
"Are you the platoon sergeant?"
In another, I was Sergeant Mayuri.
In yet another, nuclear war broke out, forcing me into a bomb shelter.
Some hallucinations pitted me against giant kaiju.
Others had me on a sinking ship.
One made me issue passes distinguishing humans from monsters.
I became a ghost hunter uncovering spirits' identities.
Ari showed up as my junior enlisted.
I guarded an amusement park.
It felt like endless daydreams. Even after eons in dream-time, snapping back made it all feel like an instant. How much real time per hallucination? 5 minutes? 10? Maybe just 20 seconds.
Checking my phone midway would've been nice, but "Assimilate" never allowed it, always swallowing me before I could. Maybe for the best—like in the army, where glancing at the clock shows time barely moved. I gave up checking. My pocket phone vibrated a few times anyway. No clue if it was Woo Jin-ho or what he said.
─How?
Cough-hack!
The spider coughed. Instead of eating me right away, it eyed me curiously this time. Asking how I'm holding out?
"I'm just... toughing it out..."
Dizzy. Gonna puke. Like sleeping and waking every minute. I'm dying here. They say people laugh when they're at their limit. I tried.
"Without the Cute Girl Mod, that's all I've got..."
My name's Mayuri, universe's cutest girl. Face is top-tier, but beyond that? Not much. No stamina, no strength. Not Harvard-smart, not silver-tongued, no politics, no craftsmanship. Decent memory, but average next to geniuses. Money? More debt. Friends? Just monster pals.
What can ya do when you've got nothing?
"Gotta grit it out."
The Cute Girl Mod doesn't apply to "Assimilate." Like no one can touch darkness, it's probably intangible like Kunekune. All that's left is willpower. Break that, and I've got zilch. So of course I cling to it. Clench my teeth. Natural, right?
King of Flies Bond Effect triggered.
"You're not scary anymore. Eat me again. I'll come back...!"
I yelled. At some point, the hallway had mostly regained its light. As a monster that grows by devouring fear, it weakened each time I overcame one. Dragging this out, Woo Jin-ho would bring backup. Knowing endless nightmares have an end lets humans endure anything.
The spider—now just a shadow—gaped wide.
And then... giggle-giggle. Laughter echoed.
From under my fingernails.
"What a persistent friend."
Crunch! A fox burst from under my nails. Covered in countless eyeballs, gray fur flying, it clamped onto the spider's neck.
"Ahh~, I was gonna take over if you weakened first, Mayuri. But the wrong one's crumbling now."
The spider was torn into. Like ripping black clay. That massive shadow devoured and shrinking smaller and smaller.
─How?
─How? How? How? How? How?
"I've swallowed nightmares before. You're the same kinda thing, right? Can't I devour weakened darkness?"
And foxes are nocturnal, y'know. Giggle-giggle. It laughed as it ate the spider.
Crunch! Chomp-chomp!
The darkness faded.
The darkness faded.
The darkness faded.
Now, only one fox remained.
"Hey, Mayuri. We were bound to meet, huh?"
And even that vanished. The fox turned into a girl, gazing at me.
"I had my eyes on you. Didn't want some other thing eating my prey."
Giggle-giggle. She laughed.
Fox Possession Reference Material.
Kitsunetsuki (, fox possession) is the belief that a fox enters and controls a person's body. It was once thought to explain mental illnesses like schizophrenia, and used as an excuse to ostracize disliked villagers. Typically, the fox enters via the fingernails or chest, gradually usurping the body—a basis for this tale.
Fox Possession is presumed to be a Muksi Saengmyeongche spawned from this legend.