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I'm not really angry about Kayako's behavior.
but...
I'm really unhappy.
50. Infinitely spreading virus, Sakurai's first defeat
The moment the paper door was cut, it turned into a black light and disappeared, and what came into view was the real second floor.
However, compared to this, what attracted Sakurai's attention the most was...
A woman with pale skin and twisted limbs stood in front of Sakurai with her head lowered.
She had her hair loose and tilted her head to reveal an extremely creepy smile. Her dark eyes full of resentment were clearly reflected in Sakurai's eyes through her hair.
Followed by a series of cracking sounds, this was the strange sound of bones being broken by huge force.
The woman's body was twisted into a posture that a normal person couldn't make, gloomy and terrifying.
The bright red, sticky blood flowed down the woman's pale legs onto the ground.
Is the purpose of this pose to scare me? Or is there some other purpose?
Sakurai, who took in everything in front of him, didn't understand the purpose of the woman performing this performance art in front of him.
All he knew was that this guy was undoubtedly...
The ruler of this haunted house is named——
Curse·Gaya coconut.
This time...
Is it the real one?
Sakurai wasn't sure, but for things like this, you'd have to wait until the fight to find out.
As long as he keeps driving, he will eventually see Kayako's true form. At that time, the initiative between the two will naturally shift from Kayako to himself.
Sakurai was aware of this.
This is how he has done it all along.
Thinking of this, Sakurai took a step forward and came in front of Kayako. With a clear goal in mind, he swung the Aragami Fang towards Kayako's neck.
Then...
As expected, it was a failure.
Is it really an illusion?
I knew this guy wouldn't appear in front of me so easily.
With this thought in mind, Sakurai's unstoppable momentum came to a sudden halt. He slammed on the brakes and turned 180 degrees the moment Kayako, who was close to him and lowered her head, disappeared.
The wild god's tooth, which was flashing red light, was thrust towards the position on his back with force.
At this moment, a sound similar to the sound of bubbles came from behind. Sakurai looked towards the source of the sound and saw a figure standing upside down on the ceiling. The figure had disheveled hair, pale skin without a trace of blood, and black twisted lines all over his body. It was a terrifying figure.
Kayako was right above where he was now, playing the head-to-head game with him.
The arms reached down, aiming directly at Sakurai's neck.
The moment before Kayako grabbed her neck, Sakurai reacted immediately and took a step back instinctively, avoiding Kayako's attack and not giving her any chance at all.
He stepped on a pool of blood that was sticky and smelled fishy on the ground.
and many more...
I didn't feel that creepy malice just now.
The Kayako on the head is fake.
Being calculated.
The place where I am now seems to be the place where Kayako's illusion just appeared. Oh no, I've been fooled.
The Kayako who appeared and disappeared at the beginning was the real Kayako.
The series of Kayako that appeared later on were all fake.
It was a trap to lure me in.
However, even if Sakurai reacted the moment he stepped on the pool of blood, it was too late.
He had personally stepped into the trap that Kayako had tailor-made for him.
A pair of pale arms stretched out from the pool of blood and grabbed Sakurai's calf tightly, refusing to let go even if they were burned by the flames of the soul.
Two crisp sounds of bones breaking were heard, and the hands broke Sakurai's calf in the first instant.
The blood flowed down Sakurai's legs all the way to his entire body, turning into a pair of pale hands that broke all of Sakurai's bones.
Then a pair of hands tightly covered Sakurai's mouth, not giving him the chance to speak.
A huge force controlled Sakurai's body, making him completely unable to move.
The only right hand that could move, which was holding the Fang of the God of Wilderness, was also tightly controlled, and there was no way to use force to break the situation.
Finally, a woman with disheveled hair and extremely pale skin appeared in front of Sakurai, hugged Sakurai's body tightly and fell down.
Sakurai, unable to control his body, fell straight into the wide open closet behind him.
Along with the foul smell, Sakurai heard Kayako's overly unpleasant bubbling sound.
Listening to the creepy bubbling sound, Sakurai understood.
Kayako is smiling.
He felt proud and happy that Sakurai had been tricked.
It really is...
So cunning.
Was everything he had shown up to now a bait to lure me into taking the bait?
Indeed, the other party’s identity is Ghost Story·Kayako, not Supernatural·Kayako.
The fact that he had been acting so mindless and dominated by resentment made me ignore this point.
In his heart, Sakurai reflected on himself.
Is it because the week-long break has changed my mindset?
This really shouldn’t happen... [me].
But at this point, it's too late even if Sakurai wants to regret, and all he can do is accept the current situation.
Then...
【Counterattack】
Since Kayako has gone to such lengths to plot against him to this extent, let me see what your plan is.
Ghost story Kayako,
This time, I won't take it lightly.
I will place you in the same indescribable position as the mountain god.
Just use whatever tricks you want, and then I will start my counterattack.
With this thought in mind, Sakurai took one last look at Kayako's pale profile and closed his eyes.
Start enjoying this endless fall.
When Sakurai completely disappeared into the closet, after Sakurai and 'himself' were [eaten] by the house.
The ceiling where Kayako had just appeared began to wriggle again, accompanied by bursts of 'clicking' sounds similar to the sound of bubbles.
On the creeping ceiling, a woman with disheveled hair, skin so pale that not a trace of blood was visible, her body covered with scars and strange black lines, eyes buried in her hair with a strong coldness, was staring quietly at the place where Sakurai disappeared.
Is the person hugging Sakurai really Kayako's true self?
Or is it that everything Sakurai has seen so far is the real Kayako and not an illusion?
For a curse like The Grudge, which spreads resentment infinitely with the death of humans, does it really have a root cause?
Kayako, who has no weaknesses and no constraints, may not have yet become an indescribable existence, but she is undoubtedly a more difficult enemy than the mountain god.
If Sakurai didn't have enough awareness, he might really suffer a Waterloo.
51. Is this the world of The Grudge?
Sakurai squinted his eyes in confusion, and when he opened them again, he found himself in a foggy space.
Besides the faint stench that can't be ignored...
Nothing at all.
"Where is this place?"
"A strange spot?"
"It doesn't look like it. Could it be Kayako's domain?"
Sakurai had heard that a powerful enough spirit could create a small special space that was independent of the real world.
In this space, the abilities and powers of its holder can be developed to the maximum extent.
Outsiders will be suppressed to a certain extent.
There is also a saying that the paranormal spots were the territories owned by powerful spirits in the past, and only later gradually evolved into the paranormal spots.
certainly...
Sakurai had only heard of this situation and had never seen it before.
By the way, the two special moves that Sakurai developed with the Aragami Fang and the Eight-sided Silver Hammer were, in a sense, inspired by this point.
so...
Is this the purpose of Kayako, the Curse?