Let Me Spill Some Blood
Let Me Spill Some Blood
The Reverse Side (裏面).
It was a word meaning the back of an object, or a part not visible on the surface.
And the human heart was just the same—not visible on the surface.
The 71st demon, Dantalion, possessed the ability to read those hearts that did not show on the surface.
Evidently, the ability of the item I'd obtained this time had taken that power wholesale—reading other people's thoughts.
A voice hammered straight into my head instead of my ears, and the sensation was rather novel.
Thanks to that, I couldn't help but gape for a moment in admiration.
Anyone who's human would have dreamed of mind reading at least once, after all.
—Well, with how numb she is, that's why she walks around in such thin clothes in summer, I guess.
So I didn't bother turning the ability off, and just left it on for a while to spectate.
—Ah, I wish summer would hurry up and get here. Then I could see Yor's insane body again...
'Hm...'
But it only lasted a moment. I had no choice but to switch it off right away.
That was because I could see the tip of Dantalion's ear gradually crumbling into powder and scattering.
And Chae-rin's heart was, frankly, a lot more direct and crude than I'd imagined.
Well, they're just thoughts anyway, so I guess she can imagine whatever she likes...
But hearing it like this made me, of all people, feel embarrassed.
Having finished the item demonstration, I casually gave my assessment.
'It's good, but... it's awkward to use.'
I'd barely used it at all, and already about a third of the ear had scattered away.
Never mind that the part I'd obtained this time was small—the consumption rate was simply too fast.
Seere's arm hadn't seemed to have any usage limit, but this one apparently did.
What was more, I couldn't easily think of a situation where I'd need it.
Sure, there was some fun in casually reading thoughts like this, but that was all it amounted to.
Well, if I were some high-and-mighty type, I might use it to read a rival noble's schemes or something.
Regrettably, living alone in the forest, I had no such use for it.
'Well, a time will come when I need it someday.'
My thoughts settled, I put the ear back in the storage area.
I'd use it later, whether for fun or out of necessity.
So for the time being, it went into storage.
"Ah, right."
With that thought finished, I turned to her and spoke.
Come to think of it, there was something I needed to tell her. From Chae-rin's perspective, it would probably be pretty good news.
"You can just turn your stream on when you come into the cave now."
"Oh, really? Why all of a sudden... or actually, is that okay?"
I nodded to indicate it was fine.
The reason I'd originally restricted her streaming was because I was afraid my cave's location would be exposed.
Because of that, she'd had to go through the hassle of turning her stream off and on every time.
And as a bonus, a portion of her viewers would drop out of the stream in the process.
But now that the location had been exposed anyway, there was no need to keep hiding it.
A bitter feeling came over me, somehow.
Still, being on stream itself was fun, so I should look on the bright side.
Chae-rin nodded dazedly at my words.
We made small talk about this and that afterward. Honestly, I'd been busy organizing my things lately, but I needed to take breaks like this too.
Even so, having a conversation made the weight on my mind feel just a little lighter.
It went on like that for a short while.
"Ah, shoot."
Before I knew it, I could see outside growing dusky.
"It's already about to be night. I'll be heading back now, then."
Chae-rin said that and made ready to get up.
I frowned for a moment. It wasn't because I was sorry to see her go.
'...Ah, right. Damn it.'
Because when I thought about it, today happened to be the night the New Moon (朔) would rise.
It had already been over six days since Dantalion had come and gone, so like any other time, I had to greet the demon dwelling within me.
But this time, the timing was awfully bad.
Normally, during the berserk state I had to grit it out with all my strength deep inside the cave, but this cave's location was completely exposed. And I hadn't found another shelter, so...
Well, if it were Berserk B, that would be manageable enough, but even that had a slim probability.
After all, for the past two months in a row, only B had triggered.
When one type of berserk triggers, the probability of the opposite type triggering goes up.
To the point where, if the same berserk triggers three times in a row, then the next time, the other berserk is guaranteed.
In any case, that meant the odds of A triggering tonight were extremely high.
On top of that, this time I'd even used the Demon's Blood. I hadn't used it much, true, but the aftereffects might even make the berserk state worse.
Thump. Thump.
As I thought about enduring that horrible pain once again, dread swept over me.
Cold sweat beaded on my forehead from the tension.
"Whoa! Yor! What's wrong all of a sudden? You look really pale..."
It was right then. I felt Chae-rin looking at me with a worried face.
Apparently, my psychological shift had registered with her too.
Before I knew it, I had grabbed her wrist.
"Huh?"
"Look, uh..."
Honestly, I didn't know if this was a good idea.
I was about to reveal a shame of mine to another person, after all.
But so what? At the very least, I had to survive tonight.
If by some chance an intruder came in during Berserk A, I truly wouldn't be able to lift a finger.
More than anything, I didn't want to endure the night alone.
And so I said to her. Maybe from the tension, my voice trembled faintly.
"Could you... stay with me tonight...?"
"...?"
Her mouth dropped open with an odd look on her face.
But that only lasted a moment; soon she was nodding vigorously.
I felt like the meaning had gotten a bit misunderstood, but either way, it was a relief.
And so I led her farther inside.
To the very deepest part of this cave...
*
When Chae-rin first heard Yor ask her to ‘stay with him at night,’
she couldn't help but think this, if only for a moment.
'Whoa, is this a sex moment?'
19+ Mode!
The time had finally come for her to unlock that mode that had only come down through legend on the internet!
Normally, between a man and a woman, asking someone to spend the night together was obviously 'that signal,' after all.
On top of that, Yor's shy demeanor, his trembling voice—every bit of it felt like a sex signal.
So she followed after Yor, giddy with delight.
But that only lasted a moment. Soon, Chae-rin couldn't help but feel something was off.
'...Wait, that guy isn't the type to act all shy like that, is he?'
Because it was true: Yor wasn't that kind of personality. If anything, he would've just said "let's do it" directly.
The moment she realized that, her distorted memories clicked back into place.
Now that she thought about it, right now he actually looked a little frightened.
As it grew darker outside, his complexion had suddenly gone pale, and his voice had started trembling too.
And that was clearly an abnormal reaction.
It had gotten dark hundreds of times before, but this was the first time she'd seen him show such weakness.
Still, despite her doubts, she followed Yor anyway.
Trudge. Trudge.
Only the sound of footsteps echoed through the silent cave.
'We're going in really deep...'
Even for her, who had visited this cave often, going this deep was a first.
The cave gradually grew darker.
The sun was still up, yet it was dark. Apparently, from this point on, light didn't reach well.
Even so, Yor walked ahead as if he were used to it. As if he'd memorized the entire path.
'The atmosphere's a bit scary...'
As darkness submerged her surroundings, Chae-rin could feel a faint sense of fear.
An instinctive fear that comes from darkness. Since ancient times, people had felt the unknown in the dark, after all.
It was a relief that Yor was at least walking ahead of her. Otherwise, she might have been so afraid a ghost would actually appear that she'd have collapsed to the floor.
As she was inwardly reassuring herself like that, Chae-rin suddenly had this thought.
'But... so does that mean this person has been living in this kind of environment all this time?'
In this pitch-black, dark cave, alone for decades.
Hardly any tools of civilization, and not even a single person to share the dark nights with.
It would've been nice if he had a neighbor next to him like in a village, but he must have been utterly alone.
A Manifestor was fated never to mix with ordinary people, after all.
Chae-rin pictured Yor, alone in this dark space, just for a moment.
Just imagining it gave her a feeling as if desolation and loneliness were rushing in.
'That's kind of pitiful...'
Chae-rin looked at him for a moment with eyes tinged with sympathy.
And that was when it happened. Yor, who had been walking without a word, opened his mouth.
"This is the spot."
Abruptly, the smell of rusted iron seeped into Chae-rin's nostrils.
It was the acrid scent of blood.
"You might be a bit shocked, so... brace yourself."
Fwoosh.
Having said that, Yor infused mana into the Luminous Stone he was holding.
The surroundings grew softly brighter, and the scene at the end of the cave came into view.
She couldn't help but be horrified.
"H-hah...!"
Because the cave walls were entirely red.
Dried blood was crusted not just in one spot, but all around in every direction. The floor was gouged here and there with marks as if someone had clawed it out.
The walls, soaked in blood and discolored brown, bore the weight of years.
At the sight, which looked like it would drive a person insane just from looking, her breath stopped for a moment.
"Wait, what is this...?"
Chae-rin looked at Yor with a face that seemed to beg for an explanation.
Yor looked at Chae-rin with a wretched expression and said,
"Sorry. Things might get a little brutal from here on out. So just... just stay by my side."
She could see a strange fear and unease that had settled in his expression.
It was a sight of his weakness, the first that even Chae-rin, who had spent a great deal of time with him, had ever seen.
It wasn't long before she understood what his words had meant.
At last, the sun set, and the New Moon arrived.
Shunk!
Yor, without any warning, stabbed his own shoulder.
Riiip—!
Blood burst out.