Sorry, Murderer
I tossed and turned in my blanket before opening my eyes. Sometimes, when I’m really exhausted, I have dreams. And whenever I wake up from them, there’s always this strange aftertaste lingering.
Where’s the remote…
My eyes landed on the remote lying on the floor. It flickered for a moment, then appeared in my hand.
Hmm… Let’s turn on the news first…
Huh? The anchor’s usual greeting was missing. Instead, the weather forecast scratched directly into my ears. And this refreshing feeling that was completely different from usual… I hugged the blanket tighter.
I could see my phone on the table in the distance.
What time is it?
The moment I thought it, the phone vanished from the table and reappeared in my hand.
Please…
My desperate face stared back at me from the black screen.
“Ugh…”
A.M. 8:49
“Why do sad premonitions always…”
I kicked off the blanket and dashed to the bathroom to wash my face.
“If only I had the ability to turn back time instead…”
Well, turning back time is an absurd ability, but… Hmm. Among the S-class ability users, maybe one of them has it? Just look at that friend of mine… Ugh. Better not even think about it.
Anyway, where’s the towel? Where did I put the towel…
“Ugh, seriously… Next time I’ll just put it in the inventory beforehand…”
I can store any one object I see in front of me inside the mental bag in my mind. It’s exactly like the inventory from games. I tossed the towel onto the table and opened the closet. This part is pretty convenient, at least.
Once I’ve worn clothes, for some reason I can equip them straight from the inventory.
“Uh… Casual jeans and… this t-shirt should be fine…”
AM 8:53
Still… this ability can’t stop me from being late. No matter how hard I try, I can’t reach the site in seven minutes.
“Ugh… This is bad. A lot of supply containers for the raid team are supposed to arrive this morning…”
I picked up my phone.
“What excuse should I give? Of all days to oversleep…”
I scrolled through my contacts, then let out a deep sigh. I slipped the phone into my pocket and looked toward the front door.
“Ha… Let’s just hurry—AAAAAAGH!”
—BOOM!
The impact sent me tumbling backward. Dust and noise swallowed all my senses.
“Cough… cough… What the hell?”
My ears were ringing. My eyes stung, so I rubbed them lightly. The scene that slowly came into focus was impossible to believe.
“Huh…”
Through the dust, I could see the sky where the ceiling used to be. The second floor—which I’d been using as a storage room since it was empty—was split clean in half, completely visible. In other words, half the house had just been blown away along with that noise.
“Is this a dream?”
But the living room—or what used to be the living room—brought me back to reality. The chaotic mess of concrete chunks, dirt, and tangled bricks screamed that this was real.
In times like this… uh… yeah… stay calm…
I reached for my phone again.
“First, I should report—”
But then I sensed movement in the rubble where the living room had been.
Huh? What is that? A person?
I thought I saw a human shape, so I cautiously approached. A faint, trembling sob reached my ears. Tension rising, I moved closer to the center of the debris—and then I saw her clearly.
It was a woman.
With her disheveled hair hanging limp, she clutched both arms and wept bitterly.
“Hic… ugh… huuuh…”
“Hng… it hurts… it hurts… it hurts…”
I immediately grabbed the towel I’d thrown on the table and ran to her. She looked like she was in terrible pain.
“W-wait, are you okay?! There’s so much blood…”
“D-don’t come near me…!!”
Was she delirious from blood loss? This was a civilian zone. Monsters wouldn’t even be able to breathe here without ability users swarming in.
“Run… please run…”
“It’s alright. This is a civilian district. More importantly… why are you bleeding so much? Where are your teammates?”
“…Please, ngh…”
I quickly pressed the towel against her wound. The white fabric turned a disturbing red the moment it touched her pale skin.
“Oh my god…”
Every time I looked, I saw more scrapes and cuts. One towel wasn’t nearly enough to cover them all.
“There are wounds here too… I’ll find something else to stop the bleeding!”
But I couldn’t move. Her trembling, weak hand had grabbed my arm.
“Hic… sob… sob…”
Yeah… I couldn’t even begin to imagine what had happened to her inside that damned Purple Hole.
“I don’t know what happened, but you’re safe now.”
“…No…”
“It’s safe here. So—huh…?”
With a trembling hand, she suddenly yanked me down. The strength was unbelievable for such slender arms. What kind of grip did this woman have…?
“Ugh… Why are you—?”
Without a word, she climbed on top of me and slowly placed both hands on my shoulders. The metallic smell of blood mixed with her black hair stung my nose.
“Why… won’t you listen to me…?”
“What…?”
When our eyes met, I saw her lifeless red pupils trembling with unease.
“…Idiot…”
Tears slid down her cheeks. They looked like the last drops of dew clinging to a bare, withered branch. Dry, desolate tears.
“I’m sorry… hic… sob… I’m sorry… I told you to run…”
“What… what are you doing?”
Her hands moved past my shoulders toward my neck. In that brief moment, I tried to push myself up, but it was useless.
“Wait… ugh…”
With both trembling hands, she gripped my throat. Then she lifted her waist and poured more strength into her arms.
“Hic… sob… I’m sorry…”
“Wh… at…”
I thrashed beneath her.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
“Y-you… crazy… bitch… let… go…”
I’d never heard of a murderer who apologized while killing someone!
“Please… just a little longer… hold on just a little longer…”
Damn it… you psycho… What kind of strength is this…? I should’ve just run when half the house blew up… But why does this feel so strange?
The tighter her hands squeezed my throat, the more I felt something sharp stabbing into her own heart. Fragments of bitter emotion I couldn’t explain flowed through her slender hands into me.
Pity. Regret. Guilt. Regret. Guilt. Pity.
My blood stopped flowing. My vision began to blur. Her face grew faint. And the more it did, the more emotions flooded in.
I’m sorry…
Because of me…
…A monster like me…
…Please… please hold on…
“…My teammates… will come to save you… Please… please… just hold on a little longer…”
“You… you… grk…”
Bullshit. If you’re going to talk, at least loosen your grip first.
The strength in the hands around my neck only grew.
“Please…!! Please!! Snap out of it!!”
“Grk… ugh…”
I’ll find my own hope, you crazy bitch.
I grabbed her wrists.
“Disappear…!”
Ah. As expected, the inventory doesn’t work on people.
“Ah… they’re coming… hic, sob… My teammates are here…”
Damn it. I can’t hold on any longer.
“I’m sorry… for hurting you… I’ll make you disappear now…”
Am I… dead?