065. Promise
065. Promise
"Ughaa. Now I finally feel alive!"
Bubblegum had just taken care of her pressing business.
She came out of the bathroom without washing her hands. That was the moment.
Crunch!
A woman who had been watching for an opportunity in the hallway swung a blunt weapon at Bubblegum's head with all her strength.
"...Huh?"
Struck by the blunt weapon, Bubblegum staggered, then collapsed to the floor.
And then.
The woman kept slamming the blunt weapon down onto Bubblegum's head where she lay face-down.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
"Haa, haa..."
So brutally that no recognizable shape remained.
"That's about enough."
Lee Yu-na, standing beside her, watched the scene expressionlessly and spoke.
The woman stopped, caught her breath, and answered quietly in a slurred voice.
"...Yes."
"Move the body to the basement."
"Together..."
"Together? Did you forget that I'm weaker than a man when I'm inside a shell?"
"That goes for me too..."
"Stop making excuses and move it yourself. Unlike me, you don't even go outside, so you've got strength to spare."
"Even so... Alone is hard..."
While Lee Yu-na and the woman holding the blunt weapon were having that conversation.
Below them.
Bubblegum's head, splayed out on the floor, was slowly regenerating.
***
The house with the blue roof.
On the first floor, a tiny drone was flying busily around.
It was Drift AI's drone.
［I report. One in the basement.］
［I report. Three in the hallway, including Bubblegum Collector.］
［I report. Four in the living room, including Gye Se-hun.］
［I report that there are a total of five residents on the first floor. One in the basement.］
［I will transmit all of this information.］
［Additional information. I report that Bubblegum Collector was attacked by a resident and her head was burst open.］
Drift AI was transmitting the information it had gathered in real time.
To Plum Tree and Dick Lover.
Two women.
***
Bzzz.
Plum Blossom's phone, from where she lay in ambush in the car, vibrated.
"Hm?"
Plum Blossom opened her phone and checked the message.
There was no sender number, but at the bottom of the text, it read 「Sender: Drift AI」.
"What? Is this really a message from Drift? How did she get my number?"
"Who's Drift, senior?"
"A thing. Anyway..."
Plum Blossom opened the passenger-side door with a serious expression and continued speaking.
"I think Se-hun's in danger."
*
*
*
Plum Blossom and her junior hurriedly got out of the car.
Then they forced open the front gate of the house Gye Se-hun had entered and rushed inside.
The scene was being captured in full by Gye Se-hun's camera.
【Reformed Guburi】─?? Who the hell are those bastards that just went in?
【Hottie Licker】─Burglars?
【Yoho】─What kind of burglar walks right through the front gate?
【Min-ji】─Robbers, then?
【Reverse-Rape Maniac】─Shouldn't we call the cops?
【Qkrnfl892】─Probably should report it. Forcing the gate open and going in is suspicious.
【Drift AI】─I report. I state that there is no need to worry. I explain that the figures who just entered are Plum Tree.
【BigGirl】─Aha.
【Reformed Guburi】─Ooh!
【Reformed Guburi】─No, fuck, what do you mean aha! Why the hell is that Plum Blossom bitch barging in there?
【Yoho】─Why is Plum Blossom there?
【Drift AI】─I report. I state that there are circumstances.
【Hottie Licker】─Drift, how do you know that?
【Drift AI】─I report. I state that I am not obligated to tell you.
【Qkrnfl892】─Isn't that bullshit?
【Se-hun Defense Force】─No way she'd lie about something like this. And looking at the outfits of the ones who just went in, it probably is Plum Blossom? The clothes were definitely exorcist-like.
【Qkrnfl892】─Oh yeah? Is Plum Blossom really an exorcist?
【Se-hun Defense Force】─No idea.
【Gyejipsa】─Wakyapya...
【Drift AI】─I report. I state that Plum Blossom is indeed an exorcist.
That was the moment Drift's chat appeared.
"Fuck! Shouldn't have waited on the hill!"
Dick Lover, her golden hair flying, paused for a moment in front of the gate, then changed direction and dashed into the house.
Naturally, this scene was also broadcast.
【Hottie Licker】─Fuck, what's that Yankee now?
【Semen Thief】─Whoa. That foreign woman who just ran in is insanely fast.
【Qkrnfl892】─Does she have boosters on her feet or something? Can a human even run that fast?
【Yoho】─Seriously, what's going on? Weird people keep going in.
【Reverse-Rape Maniac】─Maybe they were invited?
【Reformed Guburi】─Cut the bullshit. Before I smash your gourd with a sledgehammer.
【Drift AI】─I report. I state that the figure who just entered is Dick Lover.
【BigGirl】─Aha.
【Se-hun Defense Force】─Damn, that Dick bitch was a foreigner?
【Qkrnfl892】─For real? Why is Dick here?
【Hottie Licker】─??? Wait, did everyone agree to hold an offline meetup here or something?
【Min-ji】─Right? What on earth is happening right now...
【Reformed Guburi】─How many fucking stalkers are there.
【Drift AI】─I report. I state that they are not stalkers. I explain that there are circumstances.
With that chat.
Drift's messages stopped appearing for a while.
【Se-hun Defense Force】─Should I go too? lol
【Reformed Guburi】─Don't go, you fucking bitch.
【Se-hun Defense Force】─Okay...
***
The hallway in front of the bathroom.
The head of the woman who had been holding the blunt weapon rolled around on the floor.
Her body, its neck ripped out, lost its balance and collapsed limply to the ground.
"Ugh. Why did you have to hit my head and make a scene? Not like you'd take responsibility if I got brain damage... Anyway, where is this? Why am I in a place like this? Hmm... I dunno."
Crunch!
Bubblegum, still in a groggy state, frowned and stomped on the woman's head, bursting it.
"Anyway, this is self-defense. You smashed my head too."
Lee Yu-na, who had witnessed that sight, felt the strength leave her legs.
She collapsed to the floor right there, trembling violently.
"Wha, what? Your head was definitely burst open..."
"Huh? Who are you...? Oh! You're the one who showed me to the bathroom?"
Bubblegum slowly approached Lee Yu-na.
"D, don't come near me!"
While Lee Yu-na was cowering in fear.
Flop.
A notepad slipped out of her pocket and fell to the floor.
It caught Bubblegum's attention.
"What's this?"
Bubblegum bent down and picked up the notepad.
She flipped through the pages and roughly scanned the contents.
<Manual #23>
-Success Rate 20%
Step.1
1. A takes a picture of any object with a camera near the man.
2. If the man thinks A was secretly filming him and becomes suspicious, A denies it with the most wronged expression possible.
3. A proves their innocence by showing the man their phone gallery.
=> The man develops feelings of guilt toward A.
Step.2
1. B, who was waiting elsewhere, approaches and gets severely (important) angry at the man.
2. A stops B, saying they were also partly at fault.
3. A apologizes to the man on B's behalf for getting angry. (B also apologizes, but must wear a disapproving expression.)
=> A gains a pretext to invite the man to a meal.
Step.3
1. A tells the man they want to apologize properly and brings up wanting to host him for a meal at home.
2. Since the man also feels guilty, he won't refuse outright and will hesitate.
·
·
·
·
·
·
=> Statistically, about 1 in 5 will accept the meal invitation.
※For the role of A, use a 'shell' with a gentle impression.
※For the role of B, use a 'shell' with a beautiful appearance.
"These manuals are really diverse."
Bubblegum closed the notepad.
After putting it in her pocket, she looked at Lee Yu-na and asked.
"Hey. Are you guys yokai, by any chance?"
"Huh? Th, that's..."
Lee Yu-na stammered and averted her gaze.
Bubblegum leaned her face in and spoke with a beaming smile.
"I'm just asking because I was curious. You don't seem like test subjects, but it was strange how you were still alive after your head came off. If you tell the truth, I'll let you live."
"Y, you'll let me live? Really?"
"Yeah! I never lie!"
Lee Yu-na hesitated briefly, then answered with trembling lips.
"Yokai...? Yes..."
"Oh yeah? So that's why you attacked me. Hey, what kind of yokai are you?"
"A Parasitic Yokai..."
"Parasitic Yokai? So you're parasitizing a human body right now?"
"Yes... I'm parasitizing a human brain..."
The smile disappeared from Bubblegum's face.
Seeing that expression, Lee Yu-na got scared and hastily added.
"P, please let me live! Actually, I never wanted to eat humans! I was just following orders because I had no choice!"
"Following orders? Whose orders?"
"The Greater Yokai in the basement... Every Parasitic Yokai, including me, will have our bodies burst and die if we don't follow that yokai's commands..."
"Basement? The yokai in the basement is your leader?"
"Yes..."
"Hmm. So if only that one disappears, you guys won't have to eat humans anymore?"
"Y, yes..."
"Got it. I'll let you live for now, so guide me to the basement."
And so Bubblegum made Lee Yu-na lead the way to the basement.
The fact that Gye Se-hun had also come here was momentarily forgotten, what with her head being burst open.
***
I easily subdued the two women.
I'd slowly approached where I felt a presence, and they suddenly jumped out and attacked, after all.
I didn't use the knife.
I'd only brought it as a threat.
"Yu-sun. These people seem to be robbers or..."
I knocked out the women presumed to be robbers.
And turned around to speak to Lee Yu-sun. That was the moment.
Boom!
"Se-hun, are you okay!?"
"Hero entrance!"
Two women kicked the door open and burst into the living room.
They were familiar faces.
Plum Blossom and Catgirl, whom I'd met briefly before.
"Plum Blossom? Why are you..."
Once again, I couldn't finish my sentence.
"Se-hun!"
Because an unidentified foreign woman came charging in after them, calling my name fluently.
She moved at superhuman speed, like a thunderbolt shooting down.
‘Was she not human? How was she so fast?’
I knew Plum Blossom, but that blonde woman was a stranger.
Given that she knew my name, I figured she might be one of the viewers.
Since I wasn't sure, I decided to ask her identity.
"And you are..."
But.
［Kieeeek!］
［Graaaaah!］
"Fuck, seriously."
Once again, my words were buried by strange interferers.
The two women I had knocked out had awakened.
But something was off about them.
Their joints were grotesquely bent, and their flesh was swelling up like balloons.
‘...Huh? Could it be they weren't simple robbers but yokai?’
I was harboring that suspicion.
Plum Blossom lightly swept her left arm diagonally through the air.
At that, plum blossoms bloomed all over the yokai's body.
［Gruuuhk...］
The plum blossoms grew larger and larger.
Conversely, the yokai's body began to shrivel like a mummy.
As if the flowers were absorbing the yokai's life force.
Before long, all the moisture was drained from the yokai's body, and it expired miserably.
And the remaining yokai,
Bang!
The blonde foreigner shot it in the head with a pistol.
The yokai, its head pierced through, collapsed to the floor and writhed before its movements soon stopped.
Even if it was a yokai.
If it had a corporeal form, it seemed it couldn't withstand a gun.
Or maybe that yokai was just a weak specimen.
"Oh..."
The moment I let out a murmur of admiration at the rare spectacle.
The women's eyes suddenly widened as they looked at me.
"Se-hun, behind you!"
"S, Se-hun!"
Plum Blossom and the foreigner shouted at the same time.
A massive shadow loomed at my feet.
［Gruoooooh!］
I turned around.
I saw Lee Yu-sun, her body grotesquely swollen and bloated.
‘What? She wasn't human either? This was fucked.’
I was a little startled.
I thought only the robbers were yokai; I never imagined the homeowner was a yokai too.
Shhhhhk!
Without even a moment to assess the situation, a long blue tongue shot out of Lee Yu-sun's mouth.
It was an attack aimed precisely at my head.
But it was slow enough to be seen clearly.
‘I didn't know what was what, but I should subdue her first.’
Swish.
I twisted my body to the left and lightly let the tongue slip past me.
Then I rotated my body the opposite way,
Wham!
and slammed a back kick into Lee Yu-sun's head with full force.
［Kieeeek!］
Her head caved in like tofu, Lee Yu-sun shrieked, a sound like scraping metal, and reeled backward. As if she couldn't see, she flailed her arms around comically.
I didn't miss this opening.
I planted my left foot on a chair, pushed off the dining table hard with my right foot, and launched myself feather-light into the air.
Rotating my body a full turn in midair, I slammed my heel down powerfully onto the crown of Lee Yu-sun's head.
Booom!
The sound of flesh bursting was buried by the thunderous noise of the floor being pulverized.
"...Huh?"
"What the...?"
Plum Blossom and the foreigner, who had been rushing over, stopped in place and froze solid.
In front of Lee Yu-sun, whose head had ruptured and was buried in the floor.
I stood there calmly, drenched in blue blood, and a heavy silence descended all around me.