Witch Hunter
—A mass of black smoke.
"What is that...?"
Even when I squinted, I couldn't make out its proper form at first.
All I could grasp was that Dina and a humanoid black figure were facing off in front of me.
And that the situation was clearly not normal.
"...My... fai... ry...."
"...Sophie?"
Sophie's voice was faintly audible.
Looking closer, behind that mass of smoke, Sophie was twitching and writhing on the floor.
...No, "collapsed" would be a more accurate description.
Moreover, it wasn't just her.
The people around them also weren't moving.
These people were surely under Sophie's control.
Yet, they didn't move, like broken robots.
"It's a Witch Hunter! Sophie has already been taken down! Run away, quickly!!"
It was Dina who rushed out first.
At the same time, she extended a tentacle from her body and launched it at the figure.
Unprecedented, overwhelming speed.
Perhaps because the Spring's seal had been broken, her tentacle shot out like a bullet and pierced the black figure.
"...Eh?"
But it remained unchanged.
Only smoke scattered.
From what I could see with my naked eye, the black mass, which had been momentarily destroyed, began to return to a human form.
"——."
"Hiiik...!"
The figure grotesquely twisted its head towards us.
- Shuuuk.
A sound like wind coalescing.
"...W-what? Is that a sword...?"
At the same time, the figure sharpened its hand.
No, it would be more accurate to say its hand itself became a sword.
"R-run!! We have to run first!!"
- Tak!
At that moment, Pai grabbed my hand and started running frantically.
'Wait... this is weird!! It doesn't fit the atmosphere here at all...!!'
To be blunt, it wasn't the kind of monster you'd find in a typical adult game.
I wasn't even sure if it was a monster to begin with, but in any case, that black figure exuded an aura more befitting a hardcore game.
"L-let's go into that house over there!"
People were stopped everywhere on the street.
And when we almost reached the Edge Village, we chose an isolated house and hid inside.
Fortunately, the door wasn't locked.
- Cheolkuk!!
"Haaah... haaah... W-what the hell is this!?"
I had so many questions.
In this game, weren't the only threats "that kind of thing"?
There weren't supposed to be things coming with murderous intent...?
"Haaah... huff.... That's a 'Witch Hunter'."
Pai, still gasping for breath, barely managed to continue speaking.
"So... what exactly is that!?"
"Ah, well, haaah... it shouldn't have appeared here originally.... Could it have come after sensing the Spring's reaction...?"
"What are you talking about... haaah... First, let's block the door."
I grabbed a chair from nearby and roughly blocked the door.
Honestly, I didn't know if it would help, but it was better than doing nothing.
"Hmm... for now, it's not around."
I looked outside through the window.
All I could see were the villagers standing blankly.
For now, no special Status Window popped up.
Perhaps that meant this was the correct way to proceed.
Also, there was a hint not to leave the village, so for now, I had no choice but to quietly observe.
"......So? What is that thing?"
After a short break, I glared at Pai and spoke.
To be precise, it was a situation where I should have been blaming the Doctor.
Why would he put something like that in an adult game?
That kind of murderer... it's scary!
But since I couldn't blame the Doctor now, I decided to take it out on Pai instead.
"Why didn't you tell me from the start? That something like that existed."
"Ah, no, no!! I didn't know either! Witch Hunters only appear when all the witches are gathered together...!! So I just stayed still... but...."
Pai couldn't meet my eyes and trailed off.
"D-don't worry though! I'm here!"
"...That thing looked like it was going to kill you too."
The figure had taken down Sophie.
Well, I didn't care what happened to Sophie, but her being taken down meant my magic wouldn't work either.
Moreover, it had shown hostility towards Dina, drawing a sword.
...If we met it again, it felt like something really, really bad would happen.
"Eh, ugh. No, it can't kill! Killing isn't its objective. A Witch Hunter just... its purpose is to prevent witches from gathering in one place. ......Who knows?"
Pai said that, then looked at me strangely, and then, as if realizing something, opened her mouth.
"Ah, right, so a Witch Hunter's goal is the witch's magical power. Sophie can't move because her magical power was stolen. Sorry. I forgot you had amnesia."
"Oh, right. I had amnesia. I've forgotten so much—"
...Wait, that's not it. This is inside a game.
"Aah, never mind! So, all we have to do is just hold out like this?"
"Yep! A Witch Hunter is a kind of curse anyway. Since the witches aren't gathered, it'll probably disappear soon."
So, in a word, this was it.
The Witch Hunter was originally a safety device that existed to prevent witches from gathering.
...Though I didn't know why such a thing existed.
Anyway.
It had mistaken the Spring's reaction for the presence of witches, and as a result, it had appeared.
"Hmm... so for now, all we need to do is hide."
"That's right! But don't worry! Even if we get caught by the Witch Hunter, I and Dina are here anyway! ...Actually, in a way, getting caught quickly might even be a method."
Pai said that and then let out an awkward laugh.
"...I don't want to—"
- Peooong!!
But that laugh didn't last long.
"Hiiik—!!"
"Ugh!?"
An explosion sound came from outside the door.
It was the loudest explosion I had heard since entering this game.
"S-surely it hasn't found us here...?"
Only an explosion sound was heard from outside.
Perhaps it was the aftermath of the battle between Dina and the Hunter.
"H-hideee...!!"
But it seemed the shock was quite significant, as Pai scurried around in a panic and crawled under the bed.
...Isn't she overreacting?
I almost laughed without realizing it.
This was the outskirts of the village.
I briefly checked outside through the window, but I couldn't find any traces of an explosion.
So, it shouldn't have discovered this place yet....
- Ddiring~
——
[ Warning ]
Pai is anxious.
Hide.
(Hint display can be changed in settings.)
——
"......!"
It was that Status Window.
The Status Window that said Pai was anxious.
The meaning it conveyed was only one.
That a Bad Ending was waiting right in front of me.
At the same time, 'places to hide' appeared before my eyes.
Specific spots glowing yellow.
It was a judgment based on intuition.
Since they were glowing yellow, it probably meant those were the spaces where I could hide.
But there was one problem.
'This is a random choice...!?'
There were a total of four glowing spots.
The space under the bed where Pai had already hidden.
At the same time, the blanket on the bed was also glowing.
And finally, an ordinary table and a large wardrobe.
"W-what should I do...?"
Nothing was certain.
There was no guarantee that I wouldn't be found no matter where I hid.
In that case, the probability was one in four.
But under the table was absolutely out.
...Because it's just visible!
And the space under the bed where Pai had gone.
...That was impossible too.
It was a single bed, so it was small.
If I hid there, it was obvious that Pai would also be discovered.
The remaining spaces were inside the blanket and inside the wardrobe.
"⋯⋯Kuh!"
I chose the wardrobe.
My hands were trembling even now; there was no way I could remain perfectly still under a blanket.
So, the wardrobe it was.
- Deoleok.
There wasn't a single piece of clothing inside.
As if it had been prepared for hiding from the start, the size was just right.
"Aughhh...."
I closed the door and waited for the moment.
Complete darkness.
And the sound of my own breathing.
Pai must have been covering her mouth too, as no sound came from her.
- Pagak!!
'H-hiiik—!!'
A sound almost like an explosion.
It seemed to have smashed the door to get in, and the shockwave created a gap in the wardrobe.
- Kkiik.
A very small gap.
It was just enough of a gap to barely observe the situation outside.
- Teobuk teobuk.
I peered through the gap at the situation outside.
Fortunately, it didn't seem to have noticed me yet.
It was just surveying the room, with no intention of looking in my direction.
'But... it's even scarier than I thought...!!'
Clearly, if that thing caught me, it would undoubtedly rape me.
I didn't know how I would be subjected to it, but the fact that this was an adult game hadn't changed.
So, even if I got caught, nothing unexpected would happen.
'I absolutely... won't get caught....'
Even if I had gotten used to it, constantly being subjected to it was torment.
A feeling like losing myself.
As if I was becoming a tool.
I couldn't imagine anything other than sex.
- Kudangtang!!
The figure first knocked over the table.
"——."
And its gaze turned to the bed.
At that moment, I inadvertently felt relieved.
There were four choices, after all.
The table and the bed... and the wardrobe.
The figure walked towards the bed and first flipped over the blanket.
—Nothing.
"Hiiik—!!"
However, Pai couldn't suppress her fear and let out a scream.
If she had just stayed still, she wouldn't have been caught....
...But she was caught.
- Chureuk, chureureureuk.
"Hmph...! W-wait...!! I'm not a witch—"
A sound like something coiling around was heard.
Was it the sound of Pai being pulled out from under the bed?
- Shuuuuuk.
A strange sound of wind gathering in one place, then scattering again.
And with a 'teolseok', Pai's hair became visible through the gap.
...She seemed to have collapsed.
'Th-thank goodness... I survived.'
Luckily, I seemed to have avoided this event.
Dina, Sophie, and Pai were taken down, but I survived.
'Right... there must be at least one event that can be avoided like this....'
Finally, I avoided an event.
Of course, it was difficult to say that I avoided it by my own will.
Naturally, the event itself had to have an option to avoid it.
In fact, it was closer to a rest period than my own will, perhaps.
...
But at that moment.
- Pagak!!
"...Eh?"
The word "Why...?" ultimately couldn't come out.
"——."
A black figure stood before me.
The wardrobe door had been destroyed.
The black figure looked down at me.
Then I looked up at it.
"Kya, Kyaaaah—!!"