----------------------------------------------------------------- Translator: penny Chapter: 3 Chapter Title: Red Woman #2 ----------------------------------------------------------------- "What the hell are you doing?" "Please, spare me! I'll do anything!" There was no hope left anymore. All I could do was grovel pathetically and beg for mercy. I couldn't escape, couldn't resist the hypnosis, and even swallowing the key had been useless. What could I possibly do? Just beg to be spared. Of course, this insane monster had no intention of letting me live. She'd probably make me open the shutter and then rip into my neck. Come to think of it, that might hurt less than tearing open my own stomach. To think regression would be this horrific...! "You want to live?" With my head bowed to the floor and my hands clasped like a fly's, the vampire spoke. "Yes! I want to live!" "Then open this for me, will you? The key's right here." She extended her hand just as expected. That damn key. "Open it, and I'll let you live. Deal? Come on, take it." I took the key, trembling uncontrollably. Was there really no way to survive? Was I going to die here again and loop back? Forever? No. I had no idea. I didn't know how many times I could come back to life. What if I bent the key by force right here? It'd be nearly impossible to straighten it perfectly afterward. Even if she hypnotized me, a human couldn't fix what human strength couldn't bend. If the key didn't fit the lock, there'd be nothing she could do. "If I open it, you'll really let me live?" "Of course." "Can you promise?" "I promise." Her response flowed as naturally as water. One hundred percent bullshit. If she planned to spare me, she would've done it from the start. "You're not going to let me live." "Huh?" "You're not going to let me live, you fucking bitch!" "What?" I sucked in a deep breath and poured all my strength into bending the key. I had to bend it somehow. They say humans break their muscle limits in extreme situations. If I could summon that kind of power, I could bend it! "Uwaaaaaah!" But. "What are you doing?" It wouldn't bend. "Fuuuuck!" Frustration welled up inside me. The whole "limits break in extreme situations" thing was pure crap. It just made your judgment go haywire from going insane. How the hell was anyone supposed to bend a metal key with their bare hands anyway? No answer. I just wanted this agony to end. Remembering the pain of ripping open my own stomach made me crave a quick death. "You're not going to let me live, you fucking bitch!" Blinded by resentment, I hurled the key at the vampire's face with all my might. Her expression didn't change. The key smacked against her face and slid off with a metallic clink. Silently, the vampire picked it up and held it out again. "Take it." "..." "And open it." "..." "You can't resist anyway." "Urk...!" "I'll let you live, okay? Hurry up and open it." Her eyes gleamed fiercely. I bit my lips and tongue to resist, but it was no use. I unlocked the shutter again. "Ahh, finally." The vampire stepped forward. Overwhelming terror consumed my body and mind. I staggered back and collapsed. "By the way. How rude. You dare insult me?" Her cold gaze pierced through me. "Whatever. Go on, run." "Y-Yes?" "Come on. I lifted the fog too." < div>
Swish! The vampire's hand twisted grotesquely. Crimson claws extended like scissor blades. If those caught me, they'd slice straight through my bones... Wait. She lifted the fog? "Ah, ahh!" Was this it?! Was this the only way to escape?! "Hyaaaaak!" I bolted upright and sprinted toward the entrance. Yes, this was it. This was the answer. Her extended claws meant she intended to kill me. Letting me go now was because I'd just insulted her. She gave me hope of survival just to crush it! But paradoxically, if there was a way to escape, this was it. Convinced of that, I ran with everything I had. Stairs appeared. Just as the vampire said, the entrance wasn't blocked. I could see the outside world. If I could just escape somehow! < div>
Whoosh. "Ah." I'd climbed halfway up the stairs. The vampire appeared in front of me. Naturally, her physical abilities surpassed a human's. What she'd done so far... it was just a game before killing me. "Oh dear. Time's up." "Y-You said you'd let me live!" "I don't keep promises with humans." Her hand lunged.< div>
Crunch. Grabbed by the throat, I was hoisted up. My toes left the ground. Crushing pressure on my face brought suffocating pain. "Ugh! Uuugh! Mmph!" I kicked at her legs and clawed at her wrist, thrashing wildly, but it was futile. "Should I strangle you? Got a fetish for that?" "Urk!" "Ahaha, squirming is so fun. Why not be an actor next life? Play a bug."< div>
Rip. Excruciating pain hit. The vampire didn't even bother strangling me. Using her dagger-like claws, she tore the flesh from my throat and yanked out my vocal cords. Wracked with agony, blood spraying from my mangled neck. I dropped to the ground at her feet. . . .
⚙ System Notification ⚙
[You have died with your throat torn out.]
[Death Count: 2 → 3] . . .
⚙ System Notification ⚙
[Restarting.]
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ My throat was torn out! "Guuuuugh!" Eyes snapping open, I clutched my throat amid surging pain and rolled on the floor. If there'd been no pain, dying wouldn't have fazed me! "Kkh!" Tears and snot streaming, I staggered to my knees. This was the third time already. While others died once and that was it, I'd repeated it three times. Horrible, brutal deaths! I was going mad. Terrifying. Even knowing I'd regress, I didn't want to die again or see that crazy vampire below. But the back was still blocked by blood fog. "Fuck...!" Painful and agonizing, yet rage boiled up too. Overwhelming fury that made my head spin. Why the hell was I suffering this bullshit? And that psycho vampire bitch mocked me at the end. Killing people and cracking jokes like a lunatic. "Fucking bitch!" Why the fuck was I caught in this shit?! "Huu, huu!" My breath came in gasps. Soon she'd call me in that damned voice. I'd be unable to resist and go down. Then die again, fourth loop. No way. "Get it together." I had to do something. With that thought, I summoned the status window in my mind.< div>
Flash.
Status Window
[Status Window]
[Loop-by-Loop Death Count List]
[Collected Endings] But what was this? I'd clearly died three times, and it showed Death Count: 3. So why was the loop still at 2? I thought there was a notification about advancing loops at first... but not after that. "What criterion?" Mysterious, but not the time to dwell. Right now, I needed a way to survive the vampire. Maybe I'd have to bash my head against it like a game, dying endlessly until I found the survival route. But how many regressions could I handle? And if I had a soul, how long before it broke? "..." Even thinking about it terrified me. My lives could just end suddenly. But right now, no answers. None at all. Sink or swim, I had to try something. "How? Ah." I pulled out my phone first. The screen lit up normally. It worked fine. Horror movies always cut signals, but thankfully not here. Call the cops? "...
Fuck." Phone was dead. Dazed, I poked around, but surprisingly, internet worked. I started searching immediately. "Vampire countermeasures. What to do if you meet a vampire. Vampire traits." Searching on the brink of death—what nonsense. But no other options. A site popped up. [Title: Coping Methods When Encountering a Vampire] [Author: KillTheParasiteInMyBrainRightNow] "What the hell?" The title screamed vampire info. I scrolled quickly, scanning. [Vampire Traits.] [Vampires can't enter without an invitation. They need permission to enter somewhere.] Invitation? Ah, so even though she could open it herself, she made me do the shutter? "Hmm..." This lent credibility. It matched vampire lore. If the vampire below was straight out of legend, traditional countermeasures might work. [Vampire Countermeasures.] [Vampires can't stand the sight of a cross.] Aha! Cross! [Cross Image.] Seeing the holy cross image purified my mind. Yes, crosses. Vampires hate them traditionally! But where to get one? "Ah!" Showing her this screen might work! [Vampires are weak to garlic.] The rest was familiar. Holy water, sunlight. Common knowledge. "You there? Come down already." "..." Her voice rang out, and my legs moved on their own. No clue if the cross would work... but worth a shot. It was all I had.
