Aleister Crowley (1)
Thud!
As my double vision snapped back into one, my legs gave out, and I tumbled to the floor.
"Urgh..."
My mind was foggy, my body hollow. The frigid air of that alien planet and Hastur's overwhelming presence still lingered, as if I could grasp them.
"Oppa! Are you okay!? Y-you were shaking so bad all of a sudden! I-it scared me!!"
Whoosh!
As Jia's body wrapped around me, the warmth from her small frame filled the emptiness inside me.
My senses slowly returned.
"Hoo... Thanks, Jia. You saved my life."
"Y-yeah!!"
I had no idea why she liked me this much, but her feelings were genuine—no doubt about that.
If I had to pick what she'd said most lately, it'd be "Oppa, you okay?"
Anyway, now what?
Well... the principal and his crew were definitely Nyarlathotep worshippers, so wiping them out and smashing the magic circle wasn't a bad idea, but it wasn't the outcome I'd hoped for.
So, the immediate goal had to be tracking down those "Forgotten Gods" or whatever and rallying them.
If I could get help from Gra'hthul, Cain's Fang, or someone on that level, exterminating the principal's gang would be a side gig.
The problem was how to butter up those arrogant, self-centered bastards...
Rub rub.
Jia's eyes gazed up at me as she nuzzled her face against my chest.
Hastur had muttered something about her voice making her one of "Shub-Niggurath's lambs" or whatever.
So, was Jia an enemy or an ally?
"Like an onion of a girl..."
Peel back one layer, and another side emerges.
"Huh? Onion? Jia hates onions. They're spicy."
Sigh...
She defied simple black-and-white categorization. Kang Jia just did.
Judging from how Hastur tried to rip out my brain and take my body to make me his apostle...
If Jia were truly Shub-Niggurath's apostle, that'd be a huge problem. But "lamb" might not mean apostle, and more importantly, her unconditional love and loyalty toward me made it impossible to treat her as an outright enemy.
"Jia, you got any connection to Shub-Niggurath?"
I threw a straight fastball.
"Shu-bub-what...?"
She gaped slightly, her face blank.
"...That Suggestion Voice power of yours—it seems to come from an Outer God called Shub-Niggurath. Did you know about this?"
"No? I just suddenly got it on January 1st this year. That's all I know."
Didn't seem like a lie.
I could be pretty sure, having seen her diary.
If Shub-Niggurath had made her an apostle through some oracle or whatever, her mind would've been corrupted from January 1st.
And it was unlikely her body had been hijacked. An Outer God possessing a human girl's body to fawn over a bug like me? Absurd.
Beyond that, Jia's stalking had continuity going back seven years. Her mindset and behavior hadn't changed dramatically once.
From middle school to now as an adult, she'd fixated on me alone—a total psycho.
That much was certain.
"Haa..."
For now, I'd dig into Jia gradually.
"Oppa tired? Hurting? D-did Jia milk you too much earlier? Uw... S-sorry... From now on, I'll ask for just a little semen..."
She deflated the moment I sighed, pouting with her lips pursed.
Pat pat.
"Nah, it's fine. Not because of you, so don't worry."
I gently stroked the back of her head.
"Hehe!"
Her face lit up like she'd never wilted.
I caught myself thinking she was a little cute.
'...Gotta keep some distance.'
Not yet. I couldn't let our emotional bond deepen too much.
Her infinite affection was real, but she was still unpredictable—like a rugby ball bouncing anywhere. Especially with her link to Shub-Niggurath, I couldn't fully open up.
Probably because she was the only one in this godforsaken world giving me 100% trust, I was getting these thoughts.
Su-hee suddenly came to mind.
Not the infinite love like Jia's, but an adult woman I could almost fully trust and rely on.
Come to think of it, what was Su-hee doing now?
I checked KakaoTalk.
[Photo]
Su-hee had sent a photo to the group chat.
A tactical murder weapon made of reinforced plastic.
"A Glock?"
I vaguely remembered playing some old PC games with it. A common automatic pistol in FPS games, standard issue for special forces.
Something like that in a high school storage room?
How the hell did the principal get his hands on it?
Wondering if Su-hee had found more, I scrolled down—and spotted a weird typo.
"What the hell is this?"
Her last message was at 7:07 PM.
Current time: 7:19 PM.
Had that much time passed while I was on Hastur's planet? The sunset outside had vanished; darkness blanketed everything.
Why would Su-hee send a garbled message like that during my blackout...?
A memory flashed in my head.
Can't write much. Go to lil sis's room
My memo, full of typos. Similar vibe to Su-hee's message.
No way...?
If her typos were even worse than mine, it probably meant something big had happened to her.
A chill ran down my spine.
Over ten minutes since her last KakaoTalk. Plenty of time to lose her life.
"J-Jia, do you know where the storage room is? Mom's in danger."
"Huh...? Mom?"
Her tone was totally chill, unlike my urgency.
"Jia, hurry! Mom's in danger—we gotta go!"
"Whyyy~? Why rush?"
What the hell was she asking?
"Obviously! Mom could die!"
"Hoo? Then just make a new one..."
"What... did you say?"
"If Mom dies, make a new one, right? There are plenty of women... Hmm, that Lee Na-hyun girl? She's quiet, doesn't talk back to you—seems good."
What a psycho.
Where to even start correcting her?
"Haa... Jia, you can't just swap out Mom like that. If Oppa died, would you grab some random guy and make him Oppa? Rub up on him and all that?"
Her face twisted in genuine disgust the second I finished.
"Eww! Don't say that!! Ugh, gross. Any guy but Oppa is total cringe!"
"Right? You treasure Oppa that much, yeah?"
"Yeah! Yeah!!"
Thrilled I'd understood her heart, her lips quivered with a huge grin.
"Exactly. So if she's real family, you gotta treasure Mom at least half as much as Oppa. That's what family is. Got it?"
Having to teach her how a kid treats their mom. Like she was in kindergarten or something.
"Hmm... Annoying, but okay! 'Cause Oppa says so."
"Then lead the way to the storage room quick. We gotta save Mom, right?"
"Yeees~"
Jia reluctantly stood, took my hand, and skipped out of the classroom.
"Hehe, school's empty—feels great~"
She seemed thrilled walking hand-in-hand through the dark school. Like a date.
"Jia, faster, okay?"
I urged her impatiently, but she ignored it.
"Nuuu~ Jia likes holding Oppa's hand and walking!"
Damn it.
"Keep dawdling, and Oppa goes alone?"
"Eh?"
I let go and strode ahead a few steps. Jia froze in shock.
"Storage room's straight this way, right? Looks like it's at the end there."
"O-Oppa... just let go of my hand...?"
She was about to flip out again.
No more letting her drag me around.
"Yeah. Let go 'cause Jia won't listen."
"Sh... Shii..."
She bared her fangs, growling.
But I didn't flinch.
I had the upper hand.
"Then live there forever, Jia! Oppa's off~ Bye~"
"W-wha? Wait, wait! Hold on!"
I walked off without looking back. Jia panicked, face screaming "this isn't right," and scurried after me.
'That's more like it.'
As much as I felt bonded to her, she'd soaked up all the affectionate touches and attention I'd unconsciously given her lately.
My arms hugging her, hand stroking her hair, thick fingers digging into her ass, lips brushing hers.
Could a severely affection-starved psycho girl like her give up that thrill after one taste?
No way in hell.
Our bond was mutual, unbreakable even by death—and I had no reason not to use it.
"O-Oppa mad? Huh? Th-then let's hold hands and hurry?"
No trace of her earlier aggression as she clung to my arm, rubbing her chest against me with aegyo.
Felt like parenting a brat.
"Yeah, let's hurry. Then Oppa'll kiss you and hug you lots? Good?"
"A-ah!? Yeah! Love it! Uwahn! Let's go! Hurry!"
We bolted down the hall, steps much faster.
With our height difference, fast-walking arm-in-arm should've been awkward, steps clashing—but it wasn't.
Like my shadow, she matched my stride perfectly.
She'd probably memorized it. Even how I walked.
"There, Oppa—that's the storage room."
Hurry.
As I reached for the door, a eunuch-like man's voice echoed from inside.
-"Keeheehee... Teacher Kim... This is the new Sensitivity 3000x Aphrodisiac I developed... You'll have to spill everything now... Keeheeheeheet!!"
-"H-heeek! N-no, don't! Don't apply it!!"
What?