Hachishakusama
"It's coming—!"
With Arva's sharp cry, the Hachishakusama sprang into motion.
Twisting its entire body at angles impossible for human joints, the monster began to rush forward; it was no longer a being that could be called a woman.
It was more like a massive spider, or a starving beast.
Bang—! Rat-a-tat-tat—!
I reflexively aimed White Tiger at the Hachishakusama.
But the bullets only shattered the innocent asphalt.
The Hachishakusama's movements were incomparably faster than any zombie I had encountered until now.
Fuck, what kind of Anomaly is this shit?!
In the game Echoes of Humanity - ECHO that I knew, the Hachishakusama was just an event NPC.
Honestly, zombies were just gross-looking abominations.
You could blow their heads off with bullets.
But this thing in front of me was different.
It was pure, spine-chilling terror, as if it were scraping the deepest parts of my survival instinct.
"Commander! Behind me—!"
Arva's voice rang in my ears.
Without a moment's hesitation, she stepped in front of me.
The monomolecular blade let out a shrill whine, distorting the air around its edge like a heat haze and making it tremble.
[Poh—! Popopopopopo!!!]
The Hachishakusama, crouched like a beast, kicked off the ground and lunged at me.
Unpredictable trajectory, speed beyond reason— the Anomaly wielded both. But Arva, true to her squad leader status, didn't waver for a single second.
Her eyes gleamed coldly as she broke down and analyzed the Hachishakusama's movements. Then her blade clashed with the mad monster.
Clang—! Kang—! Kang—!
Kakakakakak—!
It wasn't the sound of metal or flesh being sliced.
It was an alien noise, like something from another dimension colliding, bursting out endlessly.
"……!!!"
Kakakang—! Kakakang—!
Arva was blocking the Hachishakusama's illogical movements at point-blank range, without a single step of error.
Every one of her actions was the optimal calculation to protect me.
In the heat of the moment, I couldn’t keep track of the time.
The Hachishakusama, which had been clashing furiously without respite, grimaced as if displeased and pulled back.
"Arva, are you okay?!"
"No issues. However, the opponent is stronger than anticipated."
"…Understood."
Beyond Arva's calm reply, I could hear her ragged breathing.
For Arva, who could tear apart unique zombies like tofu, to only be evenly matched with this being. It was terrifying.
In Hitomi or other media, it was a monster that sucked little boys' dicks, but it was ridiculously strong.
I'd probably have to join in to take it down….
"What can I do to help?"
"My apologies."
"……."
From the situation, my helping would likely just hold Arva back.
Crackle—!
Maybe the Anomaly was jamming the signals, or for some other reason I didn’t know about, I still couldn't reach Pomen or Noah.
In the end, all I could do here was trust Arva.
I needed to hold out as long as possible and link up with the other two Echos. That was the plan.
That was when it happened.
[Po, Popopo!]
The Hachishakusama pursed its lips and emitted another strange sound.
It was a slightly different sound from before, like tuning to some eerie frequency wave.
Sensing the ominous vibe, Arva immediately adjusted her stance.
She glared at the Hachishakusama and spoke.
"Commander. I'll lure the monster away. Please link up with the other Echos in the meantime."
"…L-Lure it?"
"Yes."
Arva's voice was as clear as ever.
And her proposal was utterly logical and rational.
Separate from the Commander and become bait herself.
It was the most efficient tactic for achieving her goal of protecting the Commander.
But….
What is this feeling?
A strange sense of dissonance crept in.
But before my thoughts could finish, Arva moved first.
She, who had focused solely on protecting me until now, charged straight at the Hachishakusama.
[Popopopopopopo!!!]
"—Hah!!!"
And the Hachishakusama, as if waiting for exactly that moment, exploited Arva's opening.
"C-Commander—!"
Slipping past Arva's side with grotesque movement, it backhanded her abdomen with its pale, bloodless hand.
Kwaaaang—!
With a deafening roar, Arva's body crumpled like paper and slammed into the wall of a distant building.
Damn it—! No wonder something felt off.
The Hachishakusama's sound had clearly affected Arva's logic circuits.
I hurriedly raised White Tiger to target it.
[Po, Popo!]
But the Hachishakusama's cold, pallid white hand was already gently gripping my throat, and the world spun.
Having secured its target, the Hachishakusama melted into the shadows, leaping into the building's darkness.
And as soon as the Hachishakusama vanished, Arva crawled out from the rubble, struggling to rise.
"Urk."
Debris rained down from above.
⚔ STATUS ⚔
📉Body Damage: 42%
🛡️Abdominal Armor: Destroyed
🧠Logic Circuits: Contaminated - Forced Reboot
A barrage of error messages cluttered her vision.
But that wasn't what mattered.
"C-Commander?!"
Arva quickly scanned the convenience store where the Commander had been just moments before.
But neither the Hachishakusama nor her Commander – more precious than her own life – could be found.
"Commander? Commander?"
The communications were also dead.
"……."
The Commander was gone.
Taken away by the Anomaly, kidnapped.
The very reason for her existence, her top priority, had vanished.
"Ah, ahh—!"
And it was all because of her own foolish mistake.
"Damn it! Damn it—!!!"
She should have prepared for the possibility of the Anomaly contaminating her mind….
The ever-calm blue messages ignited into blinding red fury, ready to burn everything.
"COMMAAAANDER!!!!"
In the ashen ruins.
Arva's scream echoed like a beast's roar.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Ugh….
Like being forcibly dragged from a deep swamp, a throbbing headache brought me back to consciousness.
The first thing in my sight was a yellowed, decrepit ceiling.
Under the faintly flickering bulb, spiderweb-like stains cast gloomy shadows. Beyond that….
…What smell is this?
It was something sweet.
The alien scent snapped my mind to high alert.
"Ugh."
As I sat up, my joints creaked all over.
Fortunately, I wasn't tied up or visibly injured. Just some scrapes on my skin.
Looking around, it reeked of a rundown motel. But that was it.
"Urk…! No, why the hell won't this budge?"
My body was free.
But the room was a perfect prison.
For some reason, the heavy wooden door wouldn't move even when I threw my full weight against it, pushing or pulling.
The windows were the same.
I smashed my left prosthetic arm into it hard, but only jolting pain shot through my arm.
Bzzzzzzzt.
Communications were still jammed.
Looks like I was trapped in this room.
"Ah…."
I gave up all attempts and flopped onto the bed.
"This is driving me insane."
I got caught by some weird bitch and dragged into this world, and now I've been kidnapped by a Hachishakusama, something that only appears in urban legends.
"Ha…."
My life's absurdity drew a bitter laugh out of me, from a deep, weary corner of my soul.
Staring blankly at the ceiling, I turned my head to the side.
"…Huh?"
There was a small TV in the corner of the room.
The powered-off old screen was completely covered, plastered edge-to-edge with something.
"…This is."
Hundreds, maybe thousands of tiny notes.
The obsessive madness preserved like a specimen made me swallow hard involuntarily.
With a trembling hand, I peeled one off the screen.
"……"
Scrawled in childish, crooked handwriting – like a kid learning to write for the first time – a single word repeated endlessly.
💥 ROAR! 💥
[Popopopopopopopopopopo]
"…Fuck."
A curse slipped out on its own.
I hate scary stuff, especially jump-scare ghosts.
The other notes were the same.
While irritably ripping them off the TV, suddenly—
[Po!]
The dead TV screen flashed like lightning with a crackle of static.
From the pitch-black display emitting noise with a buzz, a bloodless white hand burst through the screen.
"No way, is the Hachishakusama named Sadako…."
Even in the midst of terror, the absurdity of the situation pierced through.
Twisting its body at impossible human angles, it finally stood on two feet on the room floor.
The woman with height that nearly brushed the ceiling locked eyes with me and creepily curled her lips.
[Popopopopopo]
"……."
Was she not planning to kill me right away?
I looked up at the Hachishakusama staring silently at me.
Just like in Hitomi or other media, it wore only a single thin cloth.
The fabric clung to its porcelain skin, revealing every curve more blatantly than nudity.
[Po, Popopopo.]
The Hachishakusama took a step toward me.
In that simple motion, its voluptuous breasts – asserting presence through the thin see-through cloth – jiggled like slow-motion footage.
"……."
Was it the adrenaline and dopamine exploding in this extreme terror?
The thought of groping the breasts of the monster that wrecked Arva invaded my mind.
[Popopo, Popopopo.]
My heart started pounding wildly.
Enthralled by the Hachishakusama's body, those overwhelming curves that had held my gaze suddenly became an irresistible temptation.
"……Ah."
The fear of the anomaly hadn't vanished.
But something stronger – an unprecedented, primal desire I'd never felt – began dominating every nerve in my body.
[Popo. Popopopo.]
In the end, I slowly reached out my arm.
The moment my fingertips touched the thin white cloth, I swallowed hard without thinking.
The Hachishakusama's cloth was damp and cold, like it was wet.
But the sensation inside was even more alien.
It was definitely not a living being, yet it felt lukewarm.
I slid the strap off her shoulder and cupped her massive breast in my hand.
"…Fucking huge."
[Po, Popopo.]
At my action, the creepy smile on the Hachishakusama's lips deepened.
As if she'd been expecting it.
Strange satisfaction and ecstasy bloomed across her face. Then, with overwhelming power, she pinned me down.
"Urk!"
Filling my vision was only her face gazing down at me.
Her waterfall of black hair draped like a curtain, isolating us from the world.
Amidst the sweet scent that paralyzed the tip of my nose, the Hachishakusama's glowing eyes stared at me as if to devour me.
And her voice….
"Found you—."
Echoed in my head once more.
"Mine."
The dick that had been so tense moments ago immediately went limp.